ABC #395
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COVERSTORY<br />
VOLVO-VOLGREN E-BUS<br />
e-buses with 2.5m-wide locally<br />
made Volgren bodies – as part<br />
of its existing 900-bus supply<br />
agreement signed in March<br />
2019, with Western Australia<br />
Public Transport Authority<br />
(PTA) operator Transperth, was<br />
pretty huge. And given it didn’t<br />
bang on about that damned<br />
coronavirus was probably an<br />
added bonus, too! Good news<br />
for once, it seemed.<br />
The first of these Perth-bound<br />
buses is planned to make<br />
its debut to an international<br />
audience at the 2021 UITP<br />
Global Public Transport Summit,<br />
Volvo explained.<br />
Following this event, at some<br />
stage this first Volvo-Volgren<br />
e-bus and three others like it<br />
will make their way to Western<br />
The 4x2 Volvo electric chassis allows for<br />
vehicles to be built with a full low floor. This<br />
allows for greater accessibility to passengers<br />
to provide a true city bus experience.<br />
It will take a bit of time, but<br />
they will get here. Volvo’s<br />
bringing in some Australiafriendly<br />
electric bus tech<br />
matched to a suitable<br />
Volgren body and it will<br />
eventually be used on a Perth<br />
CAT bus route by early 2022.<br />
That’s the short of it.<br />
The long of it? We’ll get to<br />
see one of four of these e-buses<br />
much sooner – relatively – at<br />
the 2021 UITP Global Public<br />
Transport Summit in Melbourne,<br />
scheduled to be held in the<br />
middle to very late of next year.<br />
When <strong>ABC</strong> magazine<br />
published online a 10.00am<br />
embargoed announcement<br />
about the Volvo electric buses<br />
on Thursday, July 2 earlier this<br />
month (might have been 9.59am<br />
and 46 seconds … but hey, who’s<br />
counting, right?) stating these<br />
Volvos were coming next year,<br />
the reader response was pretty<br />
intense, it must be stated.<br />
Top:<br />
Staff will be<br />
trained on using<br />
the new electric<br />
buses.<br />
Above:<br />
Why the delay?<br />
“When we bring<br />
a product to<br />
market we know<br />
it must be able<br />
to work for 25<br />
years in Australian<br />
conditions,” said<br />
David Mead.<br />
Right:<br />
At this stage, the<br />
bus is to first be<br />
shown at the<br />
2021 UITP Global<br />
Public Transport<br />
Summit in<br />
Melbourne some<br />
time next year,<br />
Opposite:<br />
David Mead –<br />
vice president<br />
Volvo Buses Asia<br />
Pacific and acting<br />
general manager<br />
for Volvo Buses<br />
Australia.<br />
Not like ‘tattoo a Volvo<br />
badge on the forehead and<br />
ride an oversized wooden Dala<br />
horse in the middle of an Ikea<br />
store singing ABBA’s 1970s hit<br />
Mamma Mia’ or anything – but<br />
pretty close nonetheless.<br />
The breaking news that Volvo<br />
will deliver its first ever electric<br />
buses into Australia – four<br />
Australia to begin necessary<br />
integration efforts prior to<br />
commencing operation in early<br />
2022 – as expected by both Volvo<br />
and the PTA, they confirmed.<br />
How this all came about<br />
was because the March 2019<br />
Volvo-PTA agreement includes<br />
provisions for the introduction<br />
of alternative-powered vehicles<br />
34<br />
<strong>ABC</strong> July 2020 busnews.com.au
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