2015-04-07 Item 2 - Attachment 1 - Pre feasibility Study of Electric Bus Routes

GHD has prepared a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) set out in Section 7 of this report using
information reasonably available to the GHD employee(s) who prepared this report; and
based on assumptions and judgments made by GHD.

The SOC has been prepared for the purpose of providing indicative costs of establishment
and operations of a recommended electric bus to proceed to a live trial, together with
potential funding options and must not be used for any other purpose.

The Strategic Outline Case is a preliminary estimate only. Actual prices, costs and other
variables may be different to those used to prepare the SOC and may change. Unless as
otherwise specified in this report, no detailed quotation has been obtained for actions
identified in this report. GHD does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the works/project
can or will be undertaken at a cost which is the same or less than the SOC.
Where estimates of potential costs are provided with an indicated level of confidence,
notwithstanding the conservatism of the level of confidence selected as the planning level,
there remains a chance that the cost will be greater than the planning estimate, and any
funding would not be adequate. The confidence level considered to be most appropriate for
planning purposes will vary depending on the conservatism of the user and the nature of the
project. The user should therefore select appropriate confidence levels to suit their particular
risk profile.

1.4     Approach
A review of transport plans of Noosa was conducted to provide the transport
planning context for the study including an assessment of the demographic profiles
in Noosa.
A review of the existing TransLink bus network in Noosa was undertaken in order
to select the most appropriate bus route for the trial in 2015. If proven feasible, a 6-
month trial for the electric bus is proposed in August 2015. A review was conducted
of the current bus routes and service, patronage, location of layovers and
maintenance location and bus driver amenities (toilets and meal rooms). Various
bus route options were assessed for the electric bus with a recommended bus
route including location of layover and charging stations.
A comprehensive market research of the current electric bus technology,
manufacturers and the users of electric buses both in Australia and internationally
was conducted. The market research was conducted via the internet and
telephone interviews (where possible) with electric bus manufacturers and
included:
  Key local and global manufacturers and bus deployments in cities similar to
  Noosa

  Transport agencies and bus operators operating electric buses
  Background on electric bus vehicles
  Battery and charging technology review – latest trends
  Performance characteristics including issues with after sales support,
  operations, maintenance and power supply
  Associated infrastructure required to implement the use of the electric buses
  Indicative cost and financing of electric buses
In total, twenty six (26) manufacturers were researched comprising of 19
international manufacturers and seven (7) local manufacturers with a base in
Australia. A comparison of their product profiles was conducted which involved a
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of electric




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