A transit authority in the Greater Toronto Area will get C$76 million in federal funds to expand its electric bus fleet and infrastructure.
The funding from Canada’s Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) will add 180 zero-emission buses to an existing fleet of 14 at York Region Transit (YRT). The agency will also install 91 battery electric chargers and 14 on-route chargers and upgrade three facilities with solar power and battery storage, reports Electric Autonomy Canada.
Once operational, the new buses are expected to reduce the region’s emissions by approximately 16,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to removing around 4,000 vehicles from the road.
The ZETF investment brings the total budget for YRT’s electric upgrade to $389 million. The Canada Infrastructure Bank has promised a loan of $136 million, and the Regional Municipality of York will be investing $177 million.
The expansion of YRT’s electric fleet comes four years after it received its first six e-buses in a 2020 pilot program, Electric Autonomy writes. It ordered six more before the year was out, then added another two in 2022.
“York Region says it plans to continue purchasing and deploying electric buses each year until 2029 to further develop the electric bus program and support the region’s goals to reach net-zero by 2050,” the news story states.
