T3 Transit aims to go electric

T3 Transit, which serves the communities of Charlottetown, Stratford and Cornwall, is aiming to replace its fleet with mostly electric buses.

The $20.5 million proposal has been approved by Ottawa for the federal infrastructure program. The federal government will cover 40 per cent of the cost. T3 is waiting for final approval from the province, which will cover 33 per cent, and the three municipalities, which will cover the remaining 27 per cent.

The proposal includes 14 electric and 4 diesel buses, as well as electric charging stations and a heated garage to store the buses.

T3 held a demonstration of electric buses in September.

"After our two days of demonstration, it is my feeling, all three levels of government, our employees, our customers, were very, very impressed with the future of the electric bus," said T3 owner Mike Cassidy.

"I hope that the new upgraded T3 Transit fleet will be mainly electric for the future of our province."

T3 bought used buses in 2016 as a stopgap measure with the intention of applying for infrastructure funding for new buses.

Cassidy expects to have all the approvals in hand by early February and a request for proposals out by the end of that month. The buses will take 18 months to deliver once they are ordered, so they won't be on the streets until late 2020 or 2021.

There are currently 12 buses in the T3 fleet. Cassidy said expanded service could be possible with the larger fleet. He is considering Saturday service in Stratford and Cornwall, and perhaps providing more Sunday service in Charlottetown.

"It's a good investment for Charlottetown because we're talking about the environment, we're talking about sustainability," said Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown.

"Also it's an opportunity for us to look at reducing costin the long term, because with an electric bus your cost of fuel is eliminated, your cost of maintenance has been reduced," Brown said.

Charlottetown's share of the bill would be $6.1 million, Brown said.

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