The Victorian government is adding electric buses to its regional transport network as part of the three-year Zero Emissions Bus Trial.
Under the $20 million program, five operators will trial 41 electric buses on routes in Seymour, Traralgon and Melbourne.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the electric bus trial would be pivotal in the state's transition to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable transport network.
"Creating a greener fleet is part of our Bus Plan to develop a more modern and reliable network that will attract more people to the convenience of buses," Mr Carroll said.
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These buses are in addition to 36 electric buses Kinetic is rolling out across the metropolitan network to operate from the Sunshine West and Heatherton depots.
Seymour will become the first regional town to be fully serviced by electric buses as part of the trial, while Latrobe Valley Bus Lines will introduce the first electric bus based in Traralgon.
Ventura's Ivanhoe bus depot will be converted into the state's first fully zero emissions bus depot by January 2024, with 26 trial electric buses and one existing electric bus set to be charged there.
Donric Group will run the first three electric buses operating in and around Sunbury from August, while CDC Victoria will introduce eight electric buses to service Melbourne's CBD and eastern suburbs.
Most of the buses will be made in Victoria at Volgren's Dandenong South manufacturing facility.
Information will be gathered during the trial on how the buses perform and the energy and charging requirements for different types of routes.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel on the 78 electric buses by mid-2025.
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