Halifax to get 60 electric buses by 2024
The three levels of government announced Thursday a joint $112-million investment to bring 60 new battery-operated, electric buses to Halifax, bringing the Halifax Regional Municipality one step closer to achieving its net-zero emission goal by 2050.
Once in service, the buses are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 3,800 tonnes annually by 2030.
The federal government is contributing $44.8 million, the province is contributing $37 million and Halifax Regional Municipality is contributing $29.8 million toward the joint investment.
Funding will also be used to purchase chargers for the buses, expand the Ragged Lake Transit Centre to house the new fleet and for the facility to undergo a retrofit, including solar panels, to achieve a net-zero standard.
"This investment says that we are unapologetically propublic transit, that we know residents of this community want to take the bus or the ferry,” said Halifax Mayor Mike Savage.
"Electrification of transit is fundamental to our belief that cities and communities can grow in responsible ways, that we can build complete, connected communities that people can access services they need without getting into a car.”
According to Patricia Hughes, manager for planning and customer engagement with Halifax Transit, there are currently about 340 standard diesel-fuelled buses, along with "other sub-fleets of paratransit and specialized (buses)" in HRM.
Savage said the shift to electric vehicles will be “transformative” for Halifax. He thanked the different levels of government for coming together to help HRM achieve its climate change mitigation targets.
"This investment in Atlantic Canada's first electric transit fleet speaks to the commitments that we've made to be better citizens to our planet through our HaliFACT climate strategy," he added.
Halifax MP Andy Fillmore said the infrastructure that is being invested in today has the potential to “lock in emissions and carbon usage for decades to come, for lifetimes to come, so the decisions we make today have ramifications far beyond today.”
Fillmore, who is also parliamentary secretary to the federal minister of infrastructure and communities, noted that Canada broke its previous record of the hottest temperature ever recorded this summer, signalling the need to take immediate action.
“The climate crisis is here. We must do everything it takes across all orders of government, across all sectors of society to fight it and every Canadian has a role to play,” he added.
The provincial government has a similar target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 53 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions in Nova Scotia by 2050.
Premier Iain Rankin said he's proud to have partners that will help Nova Scotia “jump into the sustainable revolution,” while growing a “more sustainable and inclusive economy” post-COVID-19.
Erin Burbidge, director of policy and planning at the Clean Foundation, praised the investment from all three levels of government to help Halifax transition its bus fleet to electric, as it will allow the city to catch up to other Canadian cities in this pursuit.
“That shared commitment to driving the electrification of our bus fleet is a really positive indicator and it's 60 buses to start, it's quite a large fleet that we have, but I think it's a really good basis to build on,” she said.
Burbidge said she'd be interested to see whether ferries will also be “changed around” to reduce their carbon footprint, but believes Halifax's “whole transit system has a lot of potential.”
While nothing is set in stone, HRM is currently exploring options for an electric ferry for a new ferry route from Bedford to downtown Halifax, concept design for a new net-zero terminal building and site access and design.
Ben Hammer, transit officer at the Ecology Action Centre, said he was “very pleasantly surprised” that the announcement Thursday was for bringing 60 electric buses to Halifax, surpassing HRM'S electrification strategy of having an estimated maximum of 54 electric buses at a retrofitted Ragged Lake Transit Centre.
Hammer also wasn't expecting the facility to be retrofitted to achieve a net-zero standard.
“And I'm encouraged that the next phase of fleet electrification, the rebuilding and retrofitting of the Burnside Transit Centre, will provide electric bus capacity for a fully electric fleet down the road,” he said.
Construction on the Ragged Lake Transit Centre is slated to begin in 2022 and wrap up by 2023.
A request for proposals for the electric buses will be issued this summer. All buses are expected to be delivered by 2024, with the first deliveries expected to come in 2023.