Phase two of electrifying St. Catharines Transit’s bus fleet

St. Catharines Transit Commission (SCTC) provides bus services to St. Catharines, Ontario and the neighbouring city of Thorold. It operates a fleet of 78 conventional (40-foot and 60-foot) diesel buses and a handful of diesel-electric hybrid buses, as well as on-demand TransCab services and Paratransit. 

Aligning with the St. Catharines Strategic Plan, Climate Adaptation Plan, and other existing policies, SCTC engaged Siemens Canada to complete a full front-end engineering and design (FEED) study on the electrification of SCTC’s conventional bus fleet. Electrifying SCTC’s fixed-route conventional fleet will result in several benefits to the city and community:

• Improved air quality from reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 95% (approximately 18,250 kg/day or 5.5 million kg/year)

• Lower operating and energy costs, with $900,000 in annual savings for diesel fuel costs and up to $50,000 per year per bus in maintenance savings

• A reduction in noise pollution, as BEBs produce an average of 10-15 decibels less noise than combustion-engine buses. The FEED study’s aim is to complete a comprehensive technical and financial assessment to create the most efficient and impactful plan for converting the conventional diesel-dependent fleet to battery electric buses (BEBs). 

Phase one of the study, which has already been completed, assessed the feasibility of the pilot and the required human and capital resources for the operations of BEBs. 

Phase two of the study will do the following:

• Identify the total system architecture required to support the implementation of BEBs for SCTC’s entire fleet

• Optimize electrical infrastructure while accounting for resiliency, operating-cost and capital-cost considerations

• Identify a BEB infrastructure implementation strategy, matched with the fleet replacement plan and the available funding and financing options

• Address maintenance policies and procedures required for adaptation to an electrical fleet 

Innovative aspect(s):

• Adapting the traditional steps and philosophies of the FEED process and applying them to create a virtual scenario of the zero-emissions operating environment of SCTC

• Using the Zero Emission Simulator (ZES) tool to virtually calculate how much electricity is required by a zero-emission bus to complete a specific block of work conducted by SCTC

• Using Siemens’ depot simulation software, which takes the electricity information generated by ZES and creates a virtual bus charging schedule

• Using Siemens’ Energy Twin software tool to support utility-scale electricity scenario planning

Replicability:

The methodology and future findings of this initiative can provide resources and lessons in the systemized approach that Clean Energy Canada has called and extend them to a wide range of Canadian municipalities, especially those in which electric fleet conversion is uncommon.

(Project description from original funding application)