Michael de Percy | Electric buses are cheaper, more flexible than Canberra light rail

At the time, the major capital cities in Australia had electric trams to bring workers into the CBD from the suburbs.

But in 1926, as the national capital prepared to host Parliament, the first public bus services began operating Canberra.

Buses provided cheap, reliable, flexible, and fast public transport that didn't require the expensive and inflexible infrastructure needed to operate trams.

The bus was a modern technological innovation that soon made the tram obsolete in most of the other capital cities.

Buses powered by fossil fuels have long been a feature of Canberra's public transport system.

Yet buses have not been a panacea for transport in the territory.

There remains a heavy reliance on private motor vehicles, especially for families taking children to school during the week and sport on weekends.

Buses are great for the commute to work but can be rather tedious for transporting families or when doing the grocery shopping.

Much like coal as a fuel for generating electricity, diesel and gas for buses provided an abundant, cheap, and reliable source of energy to help move people around the city.

But the threat of climate change that gripped public transport policies amid clever marketing by European light rail providers led to the rise of light rail as a way to reduce emissions.

Light rail has reappeared in the same capital cities that scrapped trams in the 1960s.

Light rail (as we refer to it these days) is a modern version of an old technology that was in common use in cities in Australia from the latter part of the 19^th century until well into the 20^th century.

In a city like Canberra that prides itself on electricity generated predominantly by renewables, light rail was one way to reduce emissions overall and to improve public transport in the ACT.

However, associated improvements in the bus network have not materialised for most commuters, with the first stage of the light rail network replacing one of the most-used rapid bus services from Gungahlin to Civic.

In fact, changes to bus routes in my former suburb of Palmerston, one of the most densely populated suburbs on Canberra's northside, resulted in fewer buses and longer travel times to most destinations.

The result of such changes, designed to reduce emissions, has had the opposite effect - commuters in these under-served areas have had to return to their fossil-fuel powered cars.

Many motorists are not yet able to afford an electric vehicle, and given the absence of an environmentally friendly alternative, the desired improvements that were to be delivered by light rail and EVs seem to be a long way off.

Enter the electric bus.

Jurisdictions like Sydney and Brisbane are progressively replacing their diesel bus fleets with electric buses.

Some, such as Brisbane, are introducing double articulated electric buses that even look like trams, only they do not require the investment in poles and wires necessary for light rail.

But most importantly, electric buses would bring to Canberra all the advantages of the original bus services that replaced trams, but with none of the disadvantages caused by fossil-fuel generated emissions.

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In effect, the ACT's proposed investment in an extended light rail network will lock the territory into an old technology - a fate the national capital avoided when it leap-frogged the other capitals in 1926.

Although stage 2A of the light rail network in Canberra is effectively a given, there is an opportunity to avoid future investment in expensive and unnecessary infrastructure by investing in modern electric buses.

Electric buses have the advantage of being cheaper, more flexible, and easier to deploy than light rail but with similar environmental benefits.

And given the planning issues that are likely to be imposed upon light rail in the Parliamentary Triangle, buses from the southside to Civic are likely to be faster than stage 2B of the light rail network.

In the meantime, Canberra's public transport network is relying on an old-fashioned technology that costs more, takes longer to deploy, and can go slower and to fewer places than modern electric buses.