40-Foot Electric Buses

No. While we're introducing Battery Electric Buses into our operations, we’ll continue to purchase new 40-foot diesel buses, compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, and gas-powered 28-foot community shuttles. Our goal is to maintain a diversified fleet that includes electric buses to help reduce emissions where possible.

By 2027, our fleet will mainly consist of CNG, battery electric, and gasoline-powered vehicles, with diesel vehicles reduced from 48% to around 30% of the total fleet.

No. We will only replace diesel buses when they’re at the end of their planned life.

No. Our fleet acquisition budget for 2023-2026 includes funding for gasoline shuttles and CNG buses. We will adjust our fleet transit plan based on changes to technology, costs and funding sources throughout future business cycles and strategy implementation.

Yes. Transit agencies across the country and in North America are scaling up to integrate electric buses into their fleets, with major orders placed by entities like Winnipeg Transit, Regina Transit, Toronto Transit Commission, and in the province of Quebec with a multi-billion-dollar investment reflecting a widespread shift towards sustainable transportation solutions. We are in constant dialog with these agencies to learn from their experience to ensure our purchased BEB fleet is affordable, reliable, and helps reduce emissions.

Over the past five years, the electric bus market has evolved significantly, there have been improvements to battery efficiency and battery management systems to perform in cold weather. We’ll purchase buses that have proven service hours in similar climatic conditions to Calgary. Rigorous testing of BEBs has been completed by transit agencies in Winnipeg, Toronto, Saskatoon, and Ottawa. Data and findings have been shared with us and helped to inform our procurement and technical requirements.

Yes, but there are currently no hydrogen fueling stations available to us in the Calgary area, preventing hydrogen fuel bus operation. We’re focused on BEBs because we can move forward now to acquire BEBs and upgrade our garages with charging infrastructure using readily available federal government financing and funding to kick start our transition to a zero-emission fleet. We’re committed to evaluating and incorporating hydrogen fuel cell buses and other low or zero-emission vehicle technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We’ve started assessing hydrogen fuel technology through hydrogen bus strategy development and fleet integration studies and participation in a hydrogen bus pilot.

We’re developing a road map of how we will transition to a zero-emission fleet over the next 10 to 20 years. It will look at other alternate fuel sources, such as hydrogen and renewable natural gas.

Like all vehicle fuel types, BEBs can catch fire. To reduce electric bus fire risk, we’re working with transit agencies across the country and participate in various Canadian Standards Association and National Fire Protection Association technical committees to develop fire and life safety guidelines for electric vehicle storage. This work includes lessons learned studies from European agencies that had fires with their vehicles.

Road and passenger safety is our top priority. Our bus fleet complies with all applicable provincial and federal transportation and motor vehicle safety standards and laws. Our BEBs will also follow all applicable provincial and federal transportation and motor vehicle safety standards and laws. All our buses follow Transport Canada’s Canada Motor Vehicle Safety standards, which include safety requirements for buses, such as brake and visibility systems, window retention, emergency exist requirements, lighting, tires, and wheels. All our buses are designed to carry maximum passenger loads and are regularly inspected and maintained to ensure mechanical integrity. The BEBs we purchase will have undergone rigorous Altoona Bus Testing, which tests buses for reliability, safety, performance, structural integrity, durability, fuel/energy economy, noise and emissions.

BEBs are generally heavier than diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In Canada today, 40-foot BEBs are, on average, up to 20 per cent heavier than 40-foot diesel or CNG units. BEBs, like our diesel and CNG buses, will require provincial overweight permits to operate in Calgary. Heavier vehicles including BEBs can negatively affect road infrastructure. To understand the impacts, we’re gathering knowledge from other Canadian municipalities that operate BEBs and have evaluated pavement quality impacts, such as Winnipeg Transit. We’re also working closely with The City’s Mobility team to understand and prepare for road impacts in Calgary. The impacts of BEBs will depend on the vehicle weight, existing road condition, road design, structure conditions, structure design, and frequency of BEB service.

That's unlikely, as there are currently no North America suppliers that produce both the battery electric shuttles and 40-foot battery electric buses we need for our projects. We would consider electric bus manufacturers in Europe that produce both shuttles and 40-foot buses, providing their vehicles meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards required by Transport Canada.