Oakville, Ontario Transit joins electric bus wave as city plans to buy 73 buses

Oakville Transit is buying 73 buses over the next six years to begin electrifying its fleet

The buses are part of 14 other green projects that the federal government, the government of Ontario and the town of Oakville are working on to improve Oakville’s public transit system.

The project begins by replacing 18 diesel buses that are currently in the fleet with electric buses and expanding the fleet with nine new electric buses.

Then next year in 2021, the transit agency will replace seven more of its old buses with electric buses. From that year until 2026, the agency will buy a total of 39 more electric buses to replace 32 more diesel from the ageing fleet. This makes for a total of 73 buses.

Beyond the buses, there are also projects to install a total of 32 charging stations to provide power for all the new buses.

To solve a problem that’s not related to going greener, but is still necessary none-the-less, are several accessibility improvements to 239 of the city’s bus stops, including ramps and walkways.

The agency is also adding Wi-Fi to 127 buses across its fleet. Along with this new Wi-Fi, Oakville Transit is adding cameras to the internet-enabled buses.

There are a few other upgrades you can read all about here. 

“The Government of Canada is investing over $26.5 million in these projects through the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream (PTIS) of the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan. The Government of Ontario is contributing more than $22.1 million, while the Town of Oakville is providing over $17.6 million,”  according to a recent Government of Ontario press release. 

Image credit: Oakville Transit (@oakvilletransit)

Source: Government of Ontario