Testing an electric bus in Saskatoon’s public transit fleet

The City of Saskatoon‘s public transit department wishes to test the technical and financial efficiency of electric buses for its fleet. To do so, Saskatoon Transit (ST) will lease an electric bus and charging station for one year and use them under real-life conditions (different lines, at different times of the day, in various weather conditions, etc.) for that period. The bus and charging station performance will be monitored throughout the test period. Saskatoon has a population of 246,000 and ST operates a fleet of 102 buses. If the pilot is successful, ST plans to replace 10 conventional buses with electric buses per year, creating an all-electric fleet in 10 years. To complete the pilot, ST will complete a request for proposals to lease a bus and charging station; monitor performance of the equipment over the test period; review and interpret the data; run lifecycle and financial analysis; and report on recommendations. The project also accounts for the return of the bus and charging station to the manufacturer after the test period. This initiative is one of the 40 actions included in Saskatoon’s Low Emission Community Plan, which prescribes that the municipal transit fleet be 100% electric by 2030. All 40 of the plan’s actions are required to meet the target of 80% emissions reduction by 2050. Innovative aspect(s): • This project would make Saskatoon the first community in Saskatchewan to move from a conventional bus fleet to an all-electric one • Other municipalities have been looking at compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as an interim step towards greening their fleets, but Saskatoon did not want to compromise on environmental benefits or replace its fleet with an emerging technology only to have to do so again a relatively short time later Replicability: • The great majority of bus fleets across Canada have yet to be converted to greener technology, so this project’s findings will be of interest to many other communities across the country • This project will include a strong focus on how an electric bus will perform in Saskatchewan’s very cold winter weather, which will be of interest to many other Canadian communities with longer, colder winters • Locally, ST’s collaboration with Saskatchewan Research Council on this project will be of great value for replication and knowledge-sharing across the province Environmental benefits: • The electric bus project’s net carbon emissions reduction is expected to be 50.3 tonnes of CO2 per bus replaced per year (this number accounts for the bus and the electrical grid’s emissions intensity factors) • There will be improved air quality at the transit terminal, as well as along bus routes • Noise pollution along bus routes will also be reduced Economic benefits: • Using electric buses should result in lower operation and maintenance costs • Offering a modern transit system should increase transit ridership Social benefits: • Improving air quality will improve public health • Less noise pollution will improve the community’s quality of life • This project will help to promote public transportation by raising awareness (Project description from original funding application)