A new report suggests Canadian transit agencies are overlooking made in Canada electric buses when they look to modernize their fleets and reduce emissions.
Vancouver based think tank Clean Energy Canada says other countries are well ahead of Canada in opting for electric buses made in this country, reports Canada’s National Observer. China and the United States are leading the way. Canadian e-buses could pack up and move elsewhere if transit agencies in this country continue to fail to support the domestic e-bus industry, the Clean Energy Canada report says.
The report notes that e-buses offer impressive fuel savings in addition to the obvious environmental benefits. A test in Edmonton found that while the buses do cost more up-front than diesel counterparts, they are 44 per cent less expensive to operate. And Translink, Metro Vancouver’s transit agency, predicts that as battery prices fall, e-buses will be cheaper to operate than diesel over the full life cycle by 2023.
Worldwide, China is by far the leader in e-buses, with about 99 per cent of the world’s total. Amsterdam plan to transition to zero emission buses by 2025 and Los Angeles plans to follow suit by 2030. The Canadian cities that are farthest ahead in setting targets for emission reductions in their municipal transit operations include Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.
