Mayoral candidate Murray promises to electrify bus fleet and complete transit network by 2030

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Glen Murray promised Monday to buy more electric buses, increase the frequency of transit service and build out the city's transit system15 years ahead of schedule.

Together, the bus purchases and transit improvementswould cost somewhere between $1.2billion and $1.8 billion,but the system-wide change would cost even more.

Standing outside Osborne Station, Murray said if he's elected mayor next month, Winnipeg will completely electrify Winnipeg Transit's fleet by 2030.

That would require the city to purchase 573 electric buses on top of the 100 the city plans to buy under the terms of a $509-million deal with the provincial and federal governments.

Murray said Winnipeg must move more quickly to eliminate the operating expenseof having parallel diesel and electric bus systems.

"The quicker we can get to a single technology platform, the much less expensive and much less difficult it will be to manage our systems," Murray said.

Murray said he would work with other levels of government to secure funding for thepurchases, which would cost no less than$650 million, based on the price the city is paying for buses under its current deal.

The total cost of electrificationwould be in the billions after you factor in the construction ofnew charging infrastructure for buses, retraining mechanics and maintenance workers and other system-widechanges, said Paul Soubry, president and CEO of NFI, the major bus manufacturer based in Winnipeg.

While NFI does not endorse candidates, Soubrysaid, Murray is the only person running for mayor who has sought the advice of the company.

"This is not just about buying buses. He's thinking about the whole ecosystem," Soubry said.

Right now, Winnipeg Transit buses only account for one per cent of the city's greenhouse gas emissions, even with an entirely diesel fleet. Personal vehicles account for 32 per cent of emissions.

Murray said he would also get more people out of their own cars and onto buses by speeding up the frequency of Winnipeg Transit service along 13 routes so buses arrive every 10minutes.

"Most Winnipeggers would rarely wait more than five minutes for a bus and in a winter city, that's important," Murray said of his proposed service, suggesting the federal government will cover most of the$36-million annual cost of operating more buses.

He also pledged to complete a citywide transit system "as envisioned by city'stransit master plan" by 2030. That plan, unveiled in 2021, includes building three more rapid-transit corridors, using Union Station on Main Street as a hub.

The transit master plan calls for an east-west Rose Line running from St. James though River Hieghts to Transcona, a north-south Orange Line running from West Kildonan to South St. Vital, a western extension of the existing Blue Line from downtown to the Red River Exhibition and an eastern extension of the Blue Line from the University of Manitoba to St. Vital.

Most of this network would be carved outof existing roads, initially through the use of diamond lanes, queue-jumping lanes for buses and transit priority signals, according to the plan.

The city intended to build out this network over the next 23 years at a cost of $588 million to $1.1 billion. Murray said the city can do it more quickly by ensuring development takes place along transit routes and helps fund them.

During the 2014 mayoral race, eventual winner Brian Bowman pledged to complete six new rapid transit lines by 2030. He succeeded in completing one, the Southwest Transitway, also known as the Blue Line, which was underway when Bowman became mayor.

Murray also promised to create a new "urban surface transit innovation lab" to work with universities, Manitoba Hydro and private-sector companies on green transportation. A new arm's-length city agency would operate the lab, he said.

Ken Klassen, a former Murray supporter who now backs rival mayoral candidate Shaun Loney, criticized Murray for appearing to ignoreRed River College's Vehicle Technology and Energy Centre.

"The bulk of research that's being done on electric buses isn't being done by universities," he said.

Earlier in the mayoral campaign, Loney promised to complete the Transportation Master Plan by 2032, while mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham promised a high-frequency transit network.

Allard endorses Murray

Murray appeared at this announcement alongside St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard, who endorsed Murray's mayoral campaign. Allardhas served two terms in St. Boniface.

Murray, Loney and Gillinghamare among 15 candidates running for mayor.Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio,Vincent Gabriele,Kevin Klein, Jenny Motkaluk, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Jessica Peebles, Rick Shone, Govind Thawani, Desmond Thomas and Don Woodstock have also registered mayoral campaigns.

• Read more from the CBC on the 2022 Winnipeg election

The deadline to register is Sept. 20. Candidates must also complete a nominationprocess from Sept. 14 to 20 in order to appear on the election dayballot on Oct. 26.