The City of St. Albert announced that it has taken steps to become the first municipality in Canada to order long-range all-electric buses to deploy on city streets for public transit use.

St. Albert has chosen BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, to provide the all-electric buses, which will be delivered to the city in late summer or early fall this year.

The three 35-ft. electric buses being purchased will operate on both local and commuter transit routes, making the system cleaner and quieter for St. Albert residents.

The City of St. Albert has ordered three all-electric buses from BYD, which will be 35 feet in length with a battery range of up to 250 kilometers. St. Albert chose to award BYD the contract to produce three all-electric buses based on the company’s commitment to providing a 12 year battery warranty (the only OEM to do so in the industry), engineering horsepower, and its record for safety and proven reliability.

BYD was also able to demonstrate to the City of St. Albert that its battery technology is durable and reliable enough to function in cold climates, proving through testing that its bus batteries can function below -40 degrees Celsius.

“We applaud the City of St. Albert for its visionary leadership in demonstrating its commitment to improving air quality with zero-emission all-electric transportation with this action,” said Macy Neshati, vice president of BYD coach and bus sales. “Additionally, these all-electric buses will help reduce noise pollution on city streets to benefit the residents of St. Albert, and the city will save money on vehicle maintenance and fuel costs.”

Renderings of the electric buses BYD will provide to the City of St. Albert are available here.