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

terminus of Route 627 to use and has minimal impact on parking with
approximately three spaces to be removed in Pelican Street. There are many on-
street parking spaces available along Pelican Street (next to Council’s office) which
could be used as a fast charging station location.
Overnight storage and slow charging for the electric bus could be undertaken at
the existing Sunbus depot (Beech Street) at Marcoola, which is approximately 30
km south of the eastern terminus (start point of Route 627) at Sunshine Beach.
Drivers can start their first trip on Route 627 from Sunshine Beach (Ed Webb Park)
The Marcoola location is preferred because it is an existing secure fenced facility
with surveillance systems and it will minimise the dead running and the significant
cost of additional driver relief trips (compared to the Noosa Council depot at Bartlett
Road). In addition, repairs and maintenance of the electric bus could be done at
Marcoola similar to current diesel buses.

Cost of the 6 Month Trial
The trial is about assessing the technology and discovering the “actual” capability
and performance of the electric bus under local conditions in Noosa. If the trial is
found to be successful, decisions can be made to consider implementing the
electric bus in full.
The cost to run the trial is estimated to be $452,700 for Optare and $407,200 for
BYD. This is the net cost after the cost of operating the standard two (2) diesel
buses on Route 627 is considered.

The findings show that the trial would cost more than the current cost to operate
the two (2) diesel buses on Route 627. This is primarily because of the cost
incurred in providing the fill-in and standby diesel buses and driver relief trips to
ensure service reliability. An initial capital investment will be required to
“ground truth” the technology. It is recommended that both Optare and BYD
are considered for the trial. Optare has the advantage of scale and expertise in
the manufacturing of buses with a strong and reputable international brand, and
have a presence in Australia. BYD are global leaders in the development of battery
technology and battery management systems (BMS). Their battery technology has
shown a continuous improvement. The new generation of batteries is already
exceeding the older batteries in capacity, which is currently installed in buses
around the world.

Strategic Outline Case
A Strategic Outline Case (SOC) has been developed to identify and compare the
indicative longer term costs of the recommended electric bus options which are
likely to proceed to a live trial, together with consideration of potential funding
sources.
A financial model has been designed to provide an indicative cost comparison of
Optare and BYD buses over a 15 year investment horizon. It is designed to
evaluate and compare the upfront purchase costs of a single bus and the
anticipated energy and maintenance costs on a ‘like-for-like’ basis.
An operational model has been developed to compare the indicative costs of
running the selected electric bus options (Optare and BYD) as a fleet on Route 627
against the indicative costs of running the current Sunbus diesel buses. The time
period for the operational model is 10 years (based on TransLink’s initial leasing




                         GHD | Proposal for Noosa Council & TransLink Division - Planning Report