Bus Depot Capital Works Program

Project summary

Public Transport Victoria, in partnership with Transdev, embarked on a bus depot capital works program to increase the capacity of depots at key locations in support of improved and more efficient bus services throughout Melbourne. As part of these works, three brand new facilities were constructed and a further two existing facilities were refurbished.

As part of the $45 million investment, new facilities were constructed at Heatherton, Sunshine West and Thomastown. These state of art facilities raised the bar in delivering efficient and sustainable bus operations.

In addition to providing new workplace accommodation for a workforce of over 400 people, these three facilities bring improved servicing function, more environmentally friendly plant and equipment, as well as more sustainable design with the introduction of large rainwater harvesting capability at each site, solar technology and other green initiatives.

…what we did on this project

Touch Projects was engaged to assist PTV and Transdev with the delivery of a bus depot capital works program, including three new bus depots.

The careful selection of each site was crucial, given the number of different bus routes that will be operating from each location. It was important to minimise the amount of dead running for buses at the beginning and end of each route.

In addition to reducing dead running, close consideration was also placed upon minimising noise and amenity impacts to neighbouring residents and other adjacent businesses.

Three locations were selected in Sunshine West, Heatherton and Thomastown.

The Touch Projects team led the project on the key phases, including site selection, functional design, tender evaluation, construction administration, site supervision through to defects rectification and project close-out.

There were many issues and risks that needed to be managed in order to obtain the necessary approvals from local councils, VicRoads, the EPA and other government agencies.

Site contamination was an obstacle that could not be avoided at one project location, and therefore required careful and delicate negotiation with adjacent land owners, local council, the EPA, Yarra Valley Water and the head contractor.

A workable solution was brokered between all parties and ensured that contamination was removed with a minimal financial impact on the project.

These three bus depots underpinned PTV’s strategy to deliver bus services to previously non-serviced locations in selected areas, improved bus service efficiency, and enhanced depot operations with favourable ESD credentials.

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