Winnipeg Transit unveils first zero-emission fuel-cell bus
But while the city expects to receive dozens more zero-emission buses over the next few years, supply chain issues, budget pressures and looming tariff threats have thrown the city's plans to phase out its diesel fleet into doubt.
Erin Cooke, manager of Transit's transition to zero-emission bus program, says the city will test two types of buses — hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric — in 40-foot and 60-foot sizes.
The fuel cell bus the city received is the third such vehicle in service in Canada, Cooke said.
"So we're cutting-edge right now, when it comes to technology, for testing this out," Cooke told reporters during a news conference at Transit's Osborne Street garage.
"We do have other zero-emission buses that will be arriving this year, which will include the first 60-foot [electric] buses in Canada, as well as battery electric buses as well."
The buses include a mix of fuel cell electric, which charge with hydrogen, and battery electric, which can be plugged into a charger.
With $280 million from all three levels of government through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, the city expects to purchase a total of 90 zero-emission buses, including 70 battery electric and 20 fuel cell vehicles.
Half of the 16 buses expected this year will be fuel cell, and the other half will be battery electric. Half will be 40 feet in length, and the other half will be 60 feet. The city expects to receive another 24 zero-emission buses next year.
A 40-foot battery electric bus costs around $1.56 million, while a fuel cell bus costs about $1.9 million. A diesel bus costs approximately $900,000.
Hydrogen buses can run for 24 hours, while battery electric buses can run for 10 to 15 hours.
Fuel cell buses are entirely zero-emission, while battery-electric buses must include a small diesel generator to heat the battery in cold weather.
The city participated in a pilot project to test four zero-emission buses from 2015 to 2018.
Zero-emission plans scaled back
The city has already scaled back its plans to purchase more zero-emission buses. It had planned to buy 100 buses with the funding from ICIP, but had to reduce its orders due to supply chain issues and cost pressures.
The 2025 budget includes a directive to resume purchasing diesel buses in 2027.
Public works chair Coun. Janice Lukes isn't sure the city will meet its goal of an all-electric fleet by 2045.
"The city would love to have all electric buses, but unfortunately unless we have other level of government support, we won't be able to afford them," she said.
Cooke says the city could still meet the target.
"As long as we make choices sort of in the 2032 timeline … that target's is still totally achievable," she said.
Josipa Petrunic with the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium says looming tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada could cut the number of electric buses the city can afford even further.
"Buses get more expensive, and all of a sudden the city that has so much money can buy many fewer buses from what it planned," Petrunic said.
There are currently 632 buses in the city's fleet.
The city says the new buses will begin limited service in April, after the spring schedule change.
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Fast Company
a day ago
- Fast Company
Here's what happened when Albuquerque made riding the bus free
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One 67-year-old woman found herself on the bus after her car was repossessed due to difficulties making ends meet recently. 'It's nice to have something that's free, when you've always driven, you've always paid insurance, and you pay for almost everything,' she says. Erica Grier, who works as a part-time caregiver and uses a Section 8 voucher to afford housing, uses the bus every day. She estimates that she previously spent at least $20 per month on the bus, money that's now back in her pocket to pay for groceries and other monthly expenses. 'It's a good service that the city provides, just like how the library is free,' she says. advertisement Keener says the city has seen ridership shift since the pandemic launched a new era of remote work and Albuquerque launched free transit: fewer commuters, and more people experiencing homelessness who can now more easily use the bus to reach their destinations or who are using it as shelter from the elements. Recovering ridership Ridership has steadily increased since Albuquerque first piloted zero fares in 2022, with overall ridership up 20% in the past three years. City officials credit the zero-fare program with helping ABQ Ride's ridership numbers creep back up toward pre-pandemic levels. Like Albuquerque, Kansas City, Missouri, made headlines when it became the first major U.S. city to go fare-free in 2020. But five years later, the Kansas City Council voted to bring back $2 fares in an attempt to stave off major service cuts amid a budget shortfall. But for now, at least, it seems like Albuquerque's free fares are sticking around. Fare revenue previously 'wasn't much of anything,' according to Keener, and brought in about $3 million in revenue before the cost of collecting fare was deducted. That represented a drop in the bucket for the transit agency's $67 million annual budget, comprised of about $23 million from the city's transportation infrastructure tax and about $8 million from the county and other regional government entities. The rest of the budget is subsidized from the city's General Fund to the tune of about $30 million each year. The city's recently approved budget for fiscal year 2026 kept this subsidy, and the city 'stands behind its zero-fares system,' Keener says, adding that the agency's focus right now is on expanding routes and increasing service frequency. ABQ Ride served 7 million riders in 2024, which is about 78% of the agency's pre-pandemic ridership numbers—but ABQ Ride is also operating at only 64% of its pre-pandemic service, with reduced frequency on many routes and some headways of up to an hour. ABQ Ride is in the process of implementing a revamped 'recovery network' that aims to bring the agency back to about 95% of pre-pandemic service, according to Keener, since returning to 100% of service levels wouldn't be financially feasible. The proposed recovery network includes streamlining and restructuring some routes to offset costs of increasing frequency and evening and weekend service. The reconfiguring is expected to increase the number of residents within a half-mile of a route with frequent service. Ramirez views expanding frequency as the next step after making buses free. According to Ramirez, ABQ Ride has long tried to do 'a lot with a little,' with the recovery plan raising questions of whether the agency should focus on having as many routes as possible or improving service in high-passenger areas. 'We need more frequency in the places that need it most,' he says. 'The bus should be for everybody,' he adds. 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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
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Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Bloomberg
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