SASKATOON -- Saskatoon Transit says it will test an electric bus over the next year.
"Buses already help tackle climate change by providing a way to get around other than in cars or trucks. With more people taking transit in Saskatoon, electric buses will make a real difference. This pilot helps Saskatoon Transit achieve our goal of replacing 10 conventional buses with electric buses per year, creating an all-electric fleet within the next 10 years." Jim McDonald, director of Saskatoon Transit, said in a news release.
The project focus on how an electric bus will perform in Saskatchewan’s cold winter weather. It can be charged in five hours.
Electric buses lead to improved air quality at transit terminals and along routes, less noise pollution, lower operation and maintennece costs and increased ridership, the city says.
The electric bus project’s annual net carbon emissions reduction is expected to be 50.3 tonnes of CO2. It is also expected to save $27,500 in fuel costs per bus, per year.
The total project cost is estimated to be $533,600 of which $234,300 is funded from the Green Municipal Fund (GMF), a fund financed by the Government of Canada and administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
Saskatoon’s Low Emission Community Plan calls for the municipal transit fleet be 100 per cent electric by 2030.
