Hybrid bus joins fleet

A new hybrid bus, with both diesel and electric motors, is to join the Warragul Bus Line fleet.
The new vehicle, that will operate the Warragul company's Public Transport Victoria services between Pakenham and Traralgon, is to be delivered following the renewal for 10 years of the company's contract with the state government to provide services in regional areas including school buses.
WBL also operates regular daily services between Warragul and Drouin and within both towns and employs about 80 drivers per day to operate the services.
General manager Phil Radford said the new hybrid bus would operate on an electric motor for speeds up to about 60 kilometres per hour then switch to the diesel motor for higher speeds.
The new contracts the government has entered into with regional operators throughout the state also provides for the introduction of new zero emissions public buses begin in 2025 and be completed by 2050.
The contracts also include social outcome agreements that would lead to the employment of additional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and disadvantaged Victorian jobseekers over the next 10 years.
WBL is one of 13 companies in The Dineen Group that operates 760 buses in Victoria and New South Wales.