TransLink is shovel-ready with Low Carbon Fleet Strategy, awaiting senior government funding
February 27, 2020 (NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C.) – The Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation has endorsed an aggressive roll-out of TransLink’s Low Carbon Fleet Strategy to support quick action on climate change. This schedule will see half of all TransLink’s diesel fleet converted to battery electric by 2030 and the remainder before 2050.
This option represents the fastest possible turn-over of the fleet to battery electric buses without retiring existing buses early. It achieves maximum greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions over the next 10 years.
- Incremental capital investment of $447 million over and above the funding already secured and approved for conventional buses
- Open new Marpole Transit Centre as 100% depot charging with 280 chargers
- Expand an existing transit centre to accommodate electric buses
- Convert route 100 and other routes to full electric operation by installing on-route chargers
- Purchase 635 battery electric buses
- Including trolleys, 64% of transit buses electrified by 2030
- 2030 bus fleet GHG reduced by 44% compared to 2007
- Cost parity between battery electric and conventional fleets only achieved over the full lifecycle of the buses (15-20 years) due to the high upfront costs of installing recharging infrastructure