2016-07-12 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                        12 JULY 2016


REPORTS FOR NOTING BY THE COMMITTEE


7                        ELECTRIC BUS LEASE UPDATE
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                              Project Officer, Joanna Ferris
                                    Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index                               ECM \ Project\ TP000300
                                    ECM \ Subject\ Commercial Bus Routes
                                    ECM \ Subject\ Transport Levy


Attachments                         Nil


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Project Officer to the Services & Organisation Committee
Meeting dated 12 July 2016 providing an update on the electric bus tender.


REPORT
At the Ordinary Meeting of 19 May 2016, Council agreed to nominate Higer Bus & Coach as the
preferred tenderer for the supply of electric buses for a 6-month trial period, subject to the following
conditions being successfully completed:
1.    The capacity of the local Energex infrastructure at Noosa Junction Bus Station and Diyan
      Street, Tewantin to support the required recharging stations; and
2.    The Chief Executive Officer to negotiate and agree to any remaining items requiring
      clarification and to award Contract 1516T067 to Higer Bus & Coach subject to satisfactory
      compliance with the remaining conditions.

The items below provide an update on progress to date:

1.                       Capacity of the local Energex infrastructure at Noosa Junction Bus Station and Diyan
                         Street, Tewantin to support the required recharging stations
a.                       Initial advice from Council’s electrical consultant was that the existing Energex network at
                         both locations would be insufficient to power the requirements of the electric bus charging
                         stations, and it was likely to require pad mount transformers at each location.
b.                       Applications were lodged with Energex on 31 May 2016 for Energex to investigate the
                         changes required to their network, in order to accommodate the electric bus charging stations
                         at both Diyan St and Noosa Junction Transit Centre.
c.                       A meeting was held on 2 June 2016 with Higer Bus & Coach, Noosa Council, TransLink,
                         Department of Transport and Main Roads and Council’s electrical consultant Robert
                         Graham. The meeting included a site visit to jointly inspect the proposed bus charging station
                         locations at Diyan St, Tewantin and Noosa Junction Transit Centre. The Noosa Junction
                         Transit Centre was deemed unsuitable for the bus charging stations due to the difficulty and
                         likely high cost of amending existing infrastructure to suit the charging station.

                                                                                                        Page 30 of 40