Depots for new hybrid buses to cost more than $800 million
Montreal’s transit agency says it will cost more than $800 million to build bus depots and renovate others to accommodate 300 new hybrid buses the city plans to introduce in 2020.
The Societé de transport de Montréal said it will speed up the construction of the Bellechasse St. bus depot in Rosemont—LaPetite-Patrie, and build a bus depot in the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough. The agency will also expand three existing bus depots.
The STM plants to rent an industrial building and turn it into a bus depot, and repair the roof of its St-Denis St. bus depot.
STM president Philippe Schnobb said Tuesday the new and refurbished structures will accommodate all 300 new buses, with the exception of 14 that will be temporarily stored outside.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said her administration will provide more information on the financing for the project in the “coming days or weeks.”
“The good news is that the provincial government is on board. They were on board when we decided to move forward with the 300 buses and they’re on board with the garages, because they know it’s linked,” Plante said.
Opposition leader Lionel Perez called the Plante administration’s plans “rushed” and said many questions are still unanswered.
Perez said the plan to repair the St-Denis transport centre’s roof is “a waste of taxpayer money.”
The STM plans to fix the depot’s roof to keep the centre in operation for another two years, allowing the agency to temporarily park buses there.
The STM will then move those buses to the Bellechasse St. bus depot when that project is complete in 2022. The projected cost to repair the St-Denis transport centre is $19.4 million.
“They are extending it by another two years, and at the end of the two years, they will destroy the building,” Perez said.
The Opposition warned in January that costs associated with housing the buses and hiring enough drivers and maintenance staff would balloon. Perez also said hybrid buses are “a transitory technology” that may be out of date by the time the buses are ready.
“It’s truly not a medium- or long-term vision,” he said Tuesday.
The exact date that Montrealers can expect to start using the new buses depends on the buses’ supplier, Schnobb said, but he said the STM would start phasing in the new buses in 2020.
“During the year 2020, we will need to hire around 600 bus drivers and around 200 maintenance employees,” Schnobb said.
The STM issued a call for tenders to purchase the buses in January. At that time, Schnobb said it was the largest increase of the city’s fleet in its history.
Plante has said that her proudest achievement in the first 100 days of her administration was ordering the 300 buses to address overcrowding.