The Australian commonwealth Government is
helping Australian states and major cities add to their alternative fuels fleets with the
purchase of 548 compressed natural gas-powered urban buses over the next two years.
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, will be operating a fleet of 223 CNG buses by
the end of the year, representing about a third of the total urban bus fleet in the state.
New South Wales is buying an additional 300 CNG buses, while Brisbane's City Council
recently approved the purchase of 120 new CNG-powered buses.
The Alternative Fuels Conversion Program of the Commonwealth Government is helping to
fund the acquisition by states and cities of the environment-friendly bus fleet. The total
size of Australia’s alternative urban bus fleet, including these new vehicles, is
around 700 vehicles, compared to an urban bus fleet of approximately 19,000 for the entire
continent.
Australian buses carry more than 900 million passengers per year, representing 47
percent of al public transport trips in Australia, with the vast majority of these trips
operating on diesel fuel. The new CNG fleet comes from a variety of suppliers, including
Daimler Chrysler (Mercedes) in New South Wales and Perth, MAN in Adelaide, and Scania in
Brisbane.
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