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

community support for this option. The option of user-pays charging would also be difficult
for the same reasons.

TransLink funding
Another option may be to seek a portion of the total funding from TransLink based on the
differential between the lifetime costs of the new electric vehicle and the current diesel
vehicle. That is TransLink would be asked to reinvest savings from fuel back into the trial to
effectively be a cost neutral outcome for Queensland taxpayers. Building this case may be
assisted by analysis already completed as part of this SOC.

Advertising
There is the option to sell advertising on the electric bus to generate revenue.

7.7      Recommendations for an electric bus to be part of a live
         train in Stage 2
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. The
findings show that the trial would cost more than the current cost to operate the two (2)
electric 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. To match
the performance of the two (2) diesel bus, inductive charging and/or supercharging
technology en-route is likely to be required. However, inductive charging and/or
supercharging technology are yet to be proven and too costly to implement for the trial.
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.
Over the investment horizon of 15 years, the total NPC discounted costs for the Optare
solution came to an estimated -$601,284 and -$922,730 and -$1,049,093 for Olev and BYD,
respectively. The total NPC discounted cost per kilometre came to -$0.37, -$0.56 and -$0.64
for Optare, Olev and BYD, respectively.
The cost analysis indicates that the Optare solution to be the lowest from a total NPC
discounted cost and cost per kilometre standpoint. This is outcome is due mainly to the
extended operational life of the Optare with a stated operational life of 25 years as against
the Olev at 20 years and the BYD at 15 years.

The analysis conducted showed that Optare Solo 10M is the most cost effective option to run
and the best choice on a theoretical whole of life cost basis, and is recommended for the 6-
month trial.




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