At a Special meeting on Jan. 27, the City's Transit Commission approved the funding model and business case for the Zero-Emission Bus program at today’s special Transit Commission meeting. Pending Council approval on February 1, staff will proceed with the implementation phase for facility upgrades, charging infrastructure and the procurement of battery-electric buses.
On June 23, 2021, Council approved the conversion of OC Transpo’s bus fleet to zero-emission buses.
Today’s approval will allow staff to leverage a funding grant from Infrastructure Canada for $350 million and a loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank for $380 million. With the gradual phase-out of diesel buses as they reach the end of their life cycle, OC Transpo could achieve a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2036. The transition from diesel buses to battery-electric is one of the most impactful actions the City can take to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from City operations by 100 per cent by 2040.
