When we consider the future of mobility in Australia, could buses be the solution to getting cars off our overcrowded city roads?
That was one of the questions that looked to be answered as 1500 delegates gathered at Jeff’s shed in Melbourne earlier this week for the bi-annual 2019 Bus Expo & Maintenance Expo.
Among those delegates were around 1100 suppliers and 400 end-users, standard for these types of gatherings.
On display was a range of buses including small minibuses right through to large double-decker coaches.
There were 4 full electric offerings 3 with Chinese powertrains and one from the UK. The EV buses were all large low floors that will be used in metro areas for passenger transport.
The UK offering was from Optare who have been using EV buses in the UK for almost a decade.
The industry over the last 2 years is pushing towards the Uber-style of transport with OnDemand being trialled in NSW.
On Demand is a flexible public transport service designed to improve connections to transport hubs and popular destinations like shopping centres or hospitals. There are On Demand services operating around NSW as part of a trial.
On Demand services can pick you up from home or an easy to access location, and take you where you need to go.
This has led to a number of manufacturers looking at alternative smaller low floor options to give better access to customers and lower costs of running.
Overall the show was a good networking event giving the manufacturers a chance to show off their new innovative ideas.
For more information on the On Demand public transport program, click here.
