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TransLink launches battery-electric bus pilot

TransLink launches battery-electric bus pilot

Posted in: Projects

Date Posted: 2019-09-13

Organization Name: Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium

As part of the continued progress of the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial, the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) is proud to announce the operation of the first of four buses and two high-powered, standardized overhead charging systems going into service in Metro Vancouver, with six more on the way.

CUTRIC’s Pan-Canadian Integration Trial

TransLink has led the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial (Phase I) since 2017, when it joined a nationally coordinated effort to advance standardized and interoperable zero emissions transit technologies, spearheaded by CUTRIC.

This announcement marks a milestone in TransLink’s continued work toward a fleet operating on 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. Each of these buses is expected to reduce 100 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and save $40,000 in fuel costs annually in comparison with a conventional diesel bus.

“Around the world, people in transit are looking here – to Metro Vancouver– to this milestone launch of the first interoperable bus system in as part of the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration, which continues to advance technology, innovation, and jobs in communities across Canada,” says Josipa Petrunic, CEO, CUTRIC. “This launch helps TransLink achieve laudable goal of a fully renewables fueled fleet by 2050, and it helps Canada deliver on its promises to the world in its Paris climate commitments.”

“With the launch of the Battery-Electric Pilot Project, TransLink is helping set the standard in a new era in transportation,” says Kevin Desmond, CEO, TransLink. “Through this partnership, the integration of standardized and interoperable battery-electric buses and high-powered overhead on-route charging systems will lead the charge towards the electrification of transit infrastructure globally.”

Battery-Electric Bus Pilot: World-First in Pan-Canadian Pilot

The TransLink launch integrates two Canadian transit vehicle manufacturers (New Flyer Industries Canada of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Nova Bus, of St. Eustache, Quebec) and two charging station manufacturers (ABB Group and Siemens Canada, located in Montreal and Oakville respectively) to deploy battery-electric buses and electric charging stations that utilize an open protocol known as the OppCharge protocol—first developed by Siemens and Volvo Bus Corporation.

CUTRIC will collect data from all of the electric buses and electric chargers in operation as part of this project to build a Canadian E-Bus Big Data Trust for Canadian municipalities in 2020.

CUTRIC is a member-based innovation consortium that partners stakeholders in industry, transit and academia to develop the next-generation of low-carbon smart mobility technologies. Its vision is to make Canada a global leader in low-carbon smart mobility technology innovation. Its mandate is to catalyze innovation in transportation, create jobs in doing so, and radically reduce emissions from transportation.

Partner companies that are invested in this project include:

  • New Flyer is providing Xcelsior CHARGE battery-electric buses. For the purposes of the CUTRIC trial, the company is implementing an on-route rapid charging system in co-operation with ABB and Siemens who are the providers of the charging equipment. This overhead charging strategy allows the bus to essentially stay in service indefinitely and is limited only by the transit service demands.
  • Nova Bus, part of the Volvo Group, is providing LFSe electric buses.
  • ABB and Siemens will supply interoperable opportunity charging systems with inverted pantograph technology for the battery-electric buses.