The New South Wales state Labor government says it will spend $6.5 billion over ten years to buy at least 1,700 new electric buses and build 17 charging depots.
The measure was announced in the latest state budget released on Tuesday, which also includes a $561.4 million Transport Affordability Package that will support a $100 reduction in the cost of private vehicle registration, dropping the weekly toll cap down to $50, and holding public transport fares at their current rate.
The $6.5 billion spend will fund  new electric buses and build and update bus depots where they can be charged, helping to reduce the state’s reliance on foreign fuels, and to revive the domestic bus manufacturing sector.
The state has been building out an expanding fleet of electric buses for several years now, backed by the government’s Zero Emission Buses scheme which aims to transition the state’s over-8,000 diesel and gas public transport buses to zero emission technology.
It is unclear just how many electric buses are currently already in operation across Sydney, however, as of August 2025 there were more than 220 already in operation, with another 921 that the Labor government has purchased since the March 2023 election.
The state has also already begun converting its bus depots to support the increasing number of electric buses in its fleet. In September of 2025, the Brookvale depot became the first of Sydney’s 11 bus depots to be fitted out for charging electric buses.
Electricity for the Brookvale depot is expected to be provided by renewable energy, including a new 250kW rooftop solar system which is already covering current operational needs.
Construction also began in May on Sydney’s first purpose-built electric bus depot, located at Macquarie Park in Sydney’s north, which will charge and operate 150 electric buses. The depot will feature both standard 75 kilowatt (kW) and fast 150 kW plug-in chargers, and will employ 160 staff including drivers, maintenance workers, and administration personnel.
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Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.