The Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and BC Transit are investing 248.5 million CAD in new buses and public transit infrastructure upgrades.
These projects aim to improve safety and increase public transit ridership in British Columbia, Canada.
The new vehicle acquisitions will include approximately 210 light-duty and 29 high-capacity diesel buses, as well as 10 high-capacity battery electric buses and 6 light-duty battery electric buses. These new vehicles will support both HandyDART and conventional transit operations by replacing ageing models that are currently in service.
Meanwhile, a component replacement initiative will extend the life, reliability and safety of up to 377 high-capacity double-decker buses in BC Transit’s fleet through transmission, engine, differential and driver seat (TED) replacements.
In addition, the funding will deliver approximately 286 new and refitted bus shelters across British Columbia to provide transit users with comfort and safety in all weather conditions.
In Kelowna, this funding will also support a design plan for a new operations and maintenance facility and will be used to complete upgrades to the existing Kelowna Transit Centre to support service expansion and a future battery electric bus fleet.
These facility upgrades and vehicle acquisitions align with BC Transit’s plan to electrify its fleet by 2040.
Erinn Pinkerton, President and Chief Executive Officer of BC Transit said:Replacing our ageing fleet, maintaining existing fleets and making sure our customers have transit shelters that make their experience a more comfortable one are all great projects being funded with this announcement. As we have now returned to our pre-pandemic ridership levels, the addition of more buses will continue to help us ensure transit remains the most convenient transportation solution for communities across the province. All these projects are made possible by all levels of government working together and I thank everyone involved in funding public transit.
The Government of Canada is investing 102,346,529 CAD in these projects, while the Government of British Columbia is investing 99,246,529 CAD and BC Transit is contributing 46,923,263 CAD.
The government funding comes from the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
The Honourable Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure said:These investments are another great example of the Province, the federal government and BC Transit’s shared commitment to improving public transit and providing people with affordable alternative ways to travel. This funding will help transition to buses that use cleaner power sources, upgrade bus stop shelters, carry out critical maintenance activities and ensure that our transit exchanges are modern and efficient to accommodate future growth.
