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Durham Region Transit settles funding agreements to support electric buses

May 14, 2023 | By Anthony Capkun


From left: John Henry, regional chair and CEO; Brian Reilly, director, Investments, Canada Infrastructure Bank; Marilyn Crawford, deputy mayor, Town of Ajax and chair, Transit Executive Committee, Durham Regional Council; Doug Proska, managing director, Enerforge; Mylene Tassy, vice-president, Sales and Marketing, Nova Bus; Bill Holmes, general manager, Durham Region Transit. Source: Durham Region Transit.

May 14, 2023 – With support from its partners, Durham Region Transit is moving forward with its transition to an electric bus fleet, starting with a pilot project that is made possible through the Canada Community-Building Fund.

Administered by Infrastructure Canada, the $12.1-million fund will help with the purchase of six 12-metre battery electric buses (BEBs) and charging infrastructure.

Supplied by Nova Bus, the BEBs will be Durham Region’s first zero-emission vehicles in the public transit fleet. They are expected to be in service by fall 2024.

“The introduction of these first battery electric buses will allow us to assess and plan for our transition to a full fleet of zero-emission vehicles by 2037,” said Bill Holmes, general manager, Durham Region Transit.

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The required charging infrastructure for these buses will be supplied and installed by Enerforge—part of the Oshawa Power Group of Companies.

In addition to the pilot project, Durham Region and DRT have signed a credit agreement with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), which will be used to purchase up to 98 additional electric buses. This agreement provides the region with low-interest financing of up to $62 million over the next four years.

CIB’s loan will help cover the upfront capital costs of zero-emission buses. Repayment of the loan is expected to be sourced from savings through the reduced maintenance and fuel costs over the life of the electric buses as compared to diesel buses.

Located east of Toronto, Durham Region comprises the following municipalities: Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge, Whitby.


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