$6.5bn electric bus push for New South Wales
The funding will significantly bolster the state’s existing fleet of electric buses, which has been steadily growing for some years. This is thanks to the government’s Zero Emission Buses scheme, which aims to see more than 8000 ICE-powered public transport buses transitioned to zero-emission technology. According to The Driven: as of August 2025, an estimated 220 electric buses were in operation across Sydney, with the state government having purchased a further 921 since March 2023.
The $6.5bn of spending will therefore increase this number greatly, both in Sydney and in surrounding areas. It will fund the purchase of new electric buses as well as renovations to existing bus depots to support charging. There’s no concrete details on what this might look like yet, but Sydney’s Brookvale depot may provide some hints: in September 2025, it became the first of 11 bus depots to receive charging infrastructure for electric buses. Most recently, Brookvale installed a charging system featuring more than a dozen new Kempower pantograph chargers – the first of its kind in Australia.
In a statement, authorities confirmed: “The NSW Government will invest $6.5 billion over 10 years for thousands of new electric buses and electric supported bus depots to reduce our reliance on foreign fuels, meet the needs of the growing community and underpin a revival of domestic bus manufacturing.”
The electric bus measure sits alongside the state’s new 12-month, $561.4m ‘Transport Affordability Package’. This sees cuts to the price of private vehicle registrations, including cars and motorcycles, as well as a lowering of the weekly toll cap.
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