New electric buses forced into storage due to delays upgrading Sydney depots

Upgrading more than a dozen large bus depots across Sydney for electric buses is running significantly behind the NSW transport agency’s plans, which has forced new vehicles bound for one location to be put into storage temporarily.

Confidential Transport for NSW documents show 10 of the 14 depots slated to be upgraded for electric buses are failing to meet targets outlined internally by the agency about 18 months ago, complicating the rollout of more than 1200 new vehicles over the next two years.

Kingsgrove, Leichhardt, Mona Vale and Taren Point depots did not meet plans to be converted by early this year. New electric buses were meant to have been deployed to the Leichhardt depot late last year.

A document marked “sensitive” shows 69 electric buses bound for Kingsgrove had to be put into storage at locations across the city and at the manufacturer’s yard due to “contract and program delays” converting the depot, as well as “performance issues” with the buses and the timing of orders.

A further four depots – Menai, North Sydney, Smeaton Grange and South Granville – have failed to meet targets for upgrades to be well under way by now. Waverley has been partially converted, while upgrade works at Willoughby should be about to start but are not.

Conversion works at Randwick were originally meant to begin by now and be finished by about April next year, but have been delayed significantly.

Construction of a new $230 million depot at Macquarie Park was also previously due to have started in the third quarter of last year and be finished by late next year. However, construction began only several weeks ago and is not expected to be finished until some time in 2028.

Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said the government had again botched the delivery of a program that would have enhanced commuters’ lives.

“If the depots are not ready, and we don’t have the capability to charge the new buses, these buses will sit there gathering dust,” she said. “An electric bus needs an electrical source to charge it. Unfortunately for the government, the laws of physics overrule any spin they can put on this one.”

Transport Minister John Graham said the government was rolling out 1700 electric buses and converting depots in a “methodical way, informed by lessons learnt”.

“I’m not sure which bright spark in the former government ordered 50 buses before they worked out how to connect the Kingsgrove depot to electric charging,” he said.

Transport for NSW confirmed that a number of electric buses were temporarily kept out of service due to depot infrastructure timing and the need for manufacturer warranty rectifications.

The agency said 99 electric buses were ordered for the Kingsgrove depot before the start in 2023 of the first stage of the zero-emission bus program. The depot had initially been planned for partial electrification while the remaining work was to be delivered later.

So far, Brookvale is the only bus depot conversion that has been completed, at a cost of $25 million, while Penrith is expected to be finished this year.

By now, the state’s new fleet of electric buses was due to be operating out of Mona Vale depot, and at North Sydney and Menai by the end of this month.

Under the internal plans, the conversion of Port Botany and Tempe depots was not due to start until the fourth quarter of this year and the second quarter of 2027 respectively.

Transport for NSW said timelines for stage one of the program had been refined as the scale and complexity of converting operational depots became clearer, including major power upgrades, planning requirements and the need to maintain bus services from these same locations.

“Many of the depots being converted are older facilities, and each presents unique technical and operational challenges, particularly when retrofitting infrastructure to support electric charging,” it said.

“Important lessons were learnt during the completed conversion of Brookvale depot, including major power supply upgrade needed for recharging infrastructure.”

The agency said in February that converting depots was a “key factor in the forecasting and procurement timeline” for zero-emission buses. At present, 285 of the 575 electric buses ordered by the Minns government are in service. The remaining 290 are due for delivery by June next year.

In addition, the government plans for more than 900 electric buses to be delivered before the end of 2028.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.