British Columbia Receives Support for Electrification of Public Transit

Patrick Weiler, member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, the Honourable Rob Fleming, B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Erinn Pinkerton, president/CEO of BC Transit, announced a joint investment of more than $395.5 million to support public transit in British Columbia.

Through this investment, BC Transit will purchase up to 115 battery-electric buses (BEBs) and install 134 charging points to enable the deployment of the new buses in communities across British Columbia.

How Battery-Electric Buses Will Help Transit Options

Increasing the number of BEBs in service will help expand clean public transportation options, which contributes to the Government of Canada’s objective of putting 5,000 zero-emission public transit and school buses on Canada’s roads by 2026, and aligns with British Columbia’s CleanBC emission-reduction goals as well as BC Transit’s transition to an electric fleet by 2040.

Expanding BC Transit’s BEB fleet and installing charging infrastructure will help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution and improve service experience.

“The future of transit is electric - and communities in British Columbia and across the country are leading the way. Our government’s investment will put quieter, cleaner buses on roads, making commutes more pleasant while protecting our environment," said the Honourable Sean Fraser, minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities.

The Government of Canada is contributing $82,019,527 to these projects through the Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) and $87,860,437 through the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream (PTIS) of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for a total investment of $169,879,964. 

The Government of British Columbia is contributing $158,669,826 and recipients are contributing $67,355,727.