Skip to main content

Canadian government invests in electric bus infrastructure

The government of Canada will invest CAN$1.2m into the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority’s (TransLink’s) demonstration project to install overhead charging stations for electric buses in Vancouver. The funding follows a commitment to support initiatives that provide citizens with more options for environmentally-friendly driving. Bus manufacturers New Flyer Industries and Nova Bus will develop the electric transit buses while ABB and Siemens will develop the chargers. These companies
April 26, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The government of Canada will invest CAN$1.2m into the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority’s (376 TransLink’s) demonstration project to install overhead charging stations for electric buses in Vancouver. The funding follows a commitment to support initiatives that provide citizens with more options for environmentally-friendly driving.

Bus manufacturers New Flyer Industries and Nova Bus will develop the electric transit buses while ABB and Siemens will develop the chargers. These companies will also evaluate the products’ interoperability and performance.

Additionally, the government has invested CAN$182.5m to support the development of electric chargers, natural gas and hydrogen refuelling stations, the demonstration of new charging technologies and the advancement of codes and standards.

Kevin Desmond, CEO of TransLink, said: "Mass transit has always scored high as a sustainable way to move large numbers of people, but many transit vehicles still use carbon-based fuels. Today, almost half our bus fleet runs on cleaner technology including our electric trolley, hybrid diesel and natural gas buses. With this fast-charge, battery-electric trial, TransLink is getting the on-the-ground experience we need."

Related Content

  • February 21, 2023
    Full analysis: Massive US EV infrastructure plan
    The White House has announced a huge financial boost, new standards, and major progress for a made-in-America national network of EV chargers to support the future of US EV charging
  • February 12, 2019
    UK government pledges £6m on chargepoints for ultra-low emission taxis
    The UK government is investing more than £6 million in the deployment of chargepoints to support ultra-low emission taxis across the country. The money will be used to install nearly 300 rapid points and 46 fast ones in 17 local authorities, including Greater Manchester, Brighton & Hove and Leicester. Rapid chargepoints are typically able to charge an EV to 80% in 30 minutes depending on the model’s battery capacity while fast charging is expected to deliver more than 60 miles of range in 10-30 minu
  • June 23, 2016
    Battery vehicle ‘now viable for very long distances’
    The Tesla 3 gets nearly double the range of the Nissan Leaf by using nearly double the amount of battery but engineers are using a multitude of work rounds to do better: aerodynamics, light-weighting even including structural electronics where dumb structure is replaced by supercapacitors or solid state batteries. Add more efficient motors and powertrain, says Dr Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx Research in its report Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles on Land 2016-2026. He goes on to say that
  • July 17, 2012
    Charging station infrastructure boost to electric vehicle use
    The first section of a planned network of stations for charging electric vehicles – the West Coast Electric Highway – opened in March, promising a welcome boost to the environment and economy of Oregon. Pete Goldin reports What should come first, the electric vehicle or the charging station? This dilemma has been hindering proliferation of ‘EVs’ in the US for years. Without a widespread and reliable infrastructure of charging stations, the American public is not likely to adopt EVs en masse. This may all b