TransLink is adding 15 new electric buses, which can travel more than 150 kilometres on a single charge.
TransLink has announced it will expand its battery-electric bus fleet with 15 new zero-emission buses, with plans to add 400 by 2030.
TransLink president Kevin Quinn made the announcement Thursday at a news conference in Vancouver. He said the new buses, which are the debut of the made-in-Canada LFSe+ electric buses from Novabus, can travel more than 150 kilometres on a single charge and can charge for the next trip in approximately five minutes while customers board.
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“Transit is already one of the greenest ways to travel. But these buses will make it even greener,” said Quinn, adding that the electric buses will save an estimated $40,000 a year in fuel costs, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 1,000 tonnes annually.
He said TransLink is working to upgrade its infrastructure by installing new overhead chargers throughout the region.
The new buses will take the electric fleet to 19 from four over the next year, and will be operating on Route 100 —the 22nd Street Station to Marpole Loop route.
Part of TransLink’s climate change strategy is to add more than 400 new battery-electric buses by 2030, and transition to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.
Money for the new buses—$16 million—comes from the Canada Community–Building Fund, which is administered in B.C. by the Union of B.C. Municipalities. TransLink says the federal and provincial government have committed to supporting the future electrification of TransLink’s fleet.
More to come…
