inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf

inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf
mosquito-borne diseases affect up to 700 million people each year. learn more
powered by: valneva canada inc.

translink to expand battery-electric bus fleet in metro vancouver

translink is adding 15 new electric buses, which can travel more than 150 kilometres on a single charge.

by tiffany crawford

feb 2 2023
read time 1 minute read
join the conversation

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.

“ 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 battery-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. vancouver already has 262 electric trolley buses that get their power from overhead cables.

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.

advertisement

money for the new buses —$16 million — comes from canada’s 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.
“electrifying our bus fleet and moving to renewable fuels are the fastest ways translink can reduce ghg emissions to help combat climate change,” said quinn.
translink says over the coming months it will order more battery-electric buses as well as the necessary charging infrastructure to support them on more routes.
ticrawford@postmedia.com
support our journalism: our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. for just $3.50 per week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to the vancouver sun, the province, national post and 13 other canadian news sites. support us by subscribing today: the vancouver sun | the province.

comments

postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. we ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. we have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. visit our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.