City of Powell River is scheduled to receive two battery electric heavy-duty buses early in 2026, which will replace two diesel-powered heavy-duty buses.
At the June 25 qathet Regional District board meeting, during a report on rural transit, BC Transit government relations senior manager Rob Ringma said BC Transit is well down the path of procurement of battery electric buses. He said 10 buses in Victoria have been commissioned and are being pressed into service.
“We plan to have two buses allocated to Powell River,” said Ringma. “They will be deployed in the conventional transit system.
“We’ve done a lot of work with the city in their facility. We’ve looked at the charging facility and the charging capabilities and what infrastructure can be inputted there. We’ve completed design work to see where that infrastructure needs to be placed and how they can be operationally ready for electric buses.
“From an implementation perspective, we’re looking at April or May of 2026, so we hope to have buses in the region and rolling around local streets in that April or May time frame. My hope is that it will set the stage, eventually, for moving some of our light duty services, our rural routes, to battery electric as well.”
Ringma said it’s great that Powell River is on the forefront.
“This is with the goal of trying to electrify as much of our fleet as possible by 2040,” said Ringma.
In terms of scope of the first phase of this program, eight BC Transit systems are lined up for electrification projects between now and 2027. Ringma said these systems include Kamloops, Kelowna, Regional District of Nanaimo, Nelson, Powell River, Sunshine Coast, Victoria and Whistler.
“Initial planned fleet purchases include 131 battery electric buses (125 heavy duty, six light duty),” said Ringma. “Supporting infrastructure includes 160 plug-in depot chargers.
“For Powell River specifically, working with the city, we have completed our infrastructure designs to allow us to plan the installation of the required charging infrastructure in the Powell River Transit operations and maintenance facility. We hope to start construction and installation of the charging equipment in October 2025.”
Ringma said BC Transit has two heavy-duty battery electric buses and two charging points planned for City of Powell River and these will replace two of the heavy-duty diesel buses currently in service.
“Pending on time delivery of the required battery electric buses from our supplier, we hope to have the two buses arrive in early 2026 for commissioning and testing, with the goal of pressing them into regular transit service by spring of 2026,” said Ringma.
Powell River mayor Ron Woznow said the allocation of battery electric buses is a significant development.
“BC Transit recognizes that it was an integral part of our strategic plan,” said Woznow. “In our operation, we’ve looked for opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Obviously, getting two electric buses complements what we have been doing.
“One of our strategic priorities is to work toward climate change mitigation. This is an excellent example.”
Woznow said city staff and BC transit have developed infrastructure design that is almost completed.
“Things are moving along,” added Woznow.
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