Electric buses could help drive 10,000 new jobs in post-Covid economy

Electric buses could help drive the creation of 10,000 new jobs and a clean public transport industry in Australia, according to a new report.

Electromotiv, which has been instrumental in Transport Canberra’s electric bus trial, collaborated with WWF to release a video this week in a bid to encourage the government to invest in electric public transport.

They also released a new report from Ernst and Young (EY) commissioned by the WWF that shows that a clean stimulus package could create 10,000 jobs to support a post-Covid economic recovery, and WWF says that underpinning this is a $240 million investment in electric buses.

EY’s report also highlights that instead of being a drain on the economy, electric vehicles can actually add to it.

Electromotiv MD and co-founder Toby Roxburgh says Australia’s abundant natural renewable resources place it perfectly for a clean public transport transition.

“Australia has a fantastic renewable energy resource; we’re the perfect location for zero-emission buses. The technology is there and we can make them in Australia,” he says in the video, sitting in Transport Canberra’s Yutong E12 electric trial bus.

Roxburgh says that although Australian governments have historically been reluctant to add zero-emission buses to their fleets, demand is now on the rise.

“The demand for electric buses is exponential,” says Roxburgh.

“In the first quarter of this year we did nine electric buses for Auckland. We’re now working on our next 50, our next hundred and our next 200 vehicles.”

With 8,000 state-owned electric buses planned for NSW by 2050, and a $944 million high-capacity public transport project planned by Brisbane Metro, the transition to clean public transport is only just beginning.

WWF Australia Energy Transition Manager Nicky Ison says that investment in electric buses as outlined in EY’s report could boost manufacturing jobs in the bus sector.

“We can rebuild our economy in a way that sets up Australia for prosperity in a world hungry for a low-carbon future,” Ison said in a statement.

“Secure jobs, cleaner air, improved health and a nation envied as a world leader in renewables – they are all within our grasp. Australians will prosper and thrive under a renewables-led recovery.”

Roxburgh says that electric buses, as well as the batteries and infrastructure that make them possible, have drastically fallen in price over the last decade and believes additional investment from Australian governments would lead to further cost decreases.

“Yes, ten years ago batteries were expensive. But since 2010, we know the average cost of lithium-ion batteries per kilowatt-hour has fallen by 85 percent. That has a lot to do with improving technology, but also about economies of scale. Imagine how much further prices could fall in this region if we decided we would become a battery manufacturing powerhouse.

“As for electric buses, they now have much lower lifecycle costs than diesel and hybrid buses. They’re still more expensive to purchase upfront, but – just like batteries – we could reduce that cost incredibly quickly if we concentrated more heavily on Australian manufacturing.”

Roxburgh says that as with passenger electric vehicles, transitioning to electric buses will save money, but the health and environmental benefits alone make it a worthwhile exercise.

“We urgently need to stop producing greenhouse gases. In Australia about 20 percent of all emissions come from transport, and removing tailpipe emissions from an entire element of our public transport sector will make a significant difference.

“This is an enormous opportunity for our economy and also for our society.”