E-bus funding announced
Three levels of government announce funding for e-bus project
SYDNEY — Transit Cape Breton is still years away from adding electric buses to its fleet, but funding boosts from the federal and provincial governments bring that move closer to reality.
In an announcement made at Open Hearth Park in Sydney on Monday, Sydney-Victoria MP Jaime Battiste said the federal government will chip in $360,000 for the planning of the construction of an electric bus maintenance facility and a community transit hub in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
“Now, more than ever, we need to ensure that public transportation is safe and efficient,” said Battiste, who was representing federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna.
Sydney-Whitney Pier MLA Derek Mombourquette, speaking in place of provincial Energy and Minister Chuck Porter, said the province will contribute $299,970. The CBRM will chip in with $240,030.
“In updating the fleet, this is an important next step for this community,” Mombourquette said.
Also participating in Monday's announcement were Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway and provincial Infrastructure and Housing Minister Geoff MacLellan.
The funding marks the first phase of a two-year study to bring electric transit buses to the municipality.
“Can you imagine … this is going to be our future,”
CBRM Mayor Amanda McDougall said following the announcement.
McDougall credited Wayne MacDonald, CBRM's director of engineering and public works, and fleet and transit manager Kathy Donovan and their teams for bringing the e-bus project forward.
“This is putting all the pieces together to ensure we do this right,” McDougall said. “It all comes down to good decision making.”
During the CBRM's capital budget talks in late April, MacDonald spoke of a need for a new maintenance facility and transit hub.
FIRST PHASE
The joint funding announced Monday will go toward the first phase of the e-bus project, which will include the concept design for the new terminal building, transit service and route optimization studies, as well as a comprehensive electric bus plan.
According to a provincal news release, the new maintenance facility and transit hub will eventually replace the existing and aging transit maintenance facility on Welton Street in Sydney “and will support recent expansions of the transit service, along with current and future transit fleet electrification plans,” the release said.
Rather than getting municipal and provincial funds available as leverage for potential federal help, MacDonald said having Ottawa and the province come through with contributions for the e-bus project “worked out great."
“It says to us they're listening,” he said. “The federal government has put a focus on public transportation and greenhouse gas emissions across the country. They've made it clear they're going to be putting little, if any, funding toward fossil-fuelled buses in the near future.”
ENERGY-EFFICIENT PLAN
McDougall said during a May interview that the municipality needed to commit to an energy-efficient plan before the start of 2023, “because the federal government said they're going to stop funding diesel-fuelled buses.”
At the moment, the Transit Cape Breton fleet includes 30 diesel-fuelled buses and nine gas-powered Handi-Trans vehicles, with a new 40-foot Novabus low-emission diesel model being considered courtesy of another provincial program.
When the e-buses will arrive, and on which routes they'll be used, remains unclear at this early stage.
“We'll procure those at the proper time,” MacDonald said. “I know we have something called a Public Transportation Infrastructure Fund and that hasn't been released. That's earmarked based on our ridership, so I suspect that's where our first electric buses will be ordered from. That hasn't opened yet, but we're going to try and get ready for it as soon as it opens.
“And if we have until 2028 to spend that funding, then that's the way we'll go.”
Phase 1 reports and a concept design of the new bus maintenance terminal are expected sometime in early 2022.