Skip to main content

Canadian government invests in electric bus infrastructure

The government of Canada will invest CAN1.2m into the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority’s (TransLink’s) demonstration project to install overhead charging stations for electric buses in Vancouver. The fund follows a commitment to support initiatives that provide citizens with more options for clean 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
April 26, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The government of Canada will invest CAN1.2m 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 fund follows a commitment to support initiatives that provide citizens with more options for clean 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 CAN182.5m 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."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Boost for EV charging in Canada
    July 24, 2017
    Canada's electric vehicle industry is about to receive a major boost with the announcement of an agreement between eCAMION, based in Toronto, Dallas-based Leclanché North America, part of Switzerland's Leclanché and SGEM based in Geneva, to develop and install a network of 34 fast-charging stations along the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH). The project, designed to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Canada, is being partially funded Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) under the Canadian Energy Inn
  • Clean vehicle retrofit scheme provides key component of UK government AQ plan
    August 4, 2017
    Developed jointly by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) together with industry stakeholders through funding and support from the DEFRA/DfT Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU), the just-launched Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS) aims to provide the provide the backbone of future retrofit funding for vehicle emission control systems. By providing a single standard for any emission technology to be validated to meet the standards set out in the government’
  • Nova Bus wins major order in Quebec
    July 9, 2012
    Transit agencies in Quebec, Canada, are going to spend almost a half-billion dollars buying 509 diesel-electric hybrid buses from Nova Bus, a Volvo-owned company, with an option to buy another 679. The 509 new buses will cost $471 million and will be delivered between 2014 and 2016.
  • Electric bus sector is game changer for battery market
    March 4, 2016
    According to Dr Victoria Adesanya-Aworinde, technology analyst at IDTechEx, the electric bus (e-bus) market is growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent in terms of unit sales. She says the rapid growth is a game changer for the battery market as electric buses require large-sized batteries ranging from 74 kWh (fast charging e-bus) to over 300 kWh (slow charging e-bus). IDTechEx Research forecasts that the e-bus battery market will overtake the consumer electronics sector by 2020. The new IDTechEx Research repor