Transit report shows zero-emission buses aren't financially feasible in Saskatoon
Zero-emission buses aren’t financially feasible for Saskatoon Transit in the short term or medium term.
That’s the assessment from the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), which was one of several reports to Wednesday’s transportation committee meeting.
RED LIGHT FOR ZERO-EMISSION BUSES
A transition to zero-emission buses is one requirement for cities to obtain some federal funding, but after the CUTRIC assessment, city administration recommended that the committee ask for an exemption.
The report said converting the Saskatoon Transit fleet to electric would see greenhouse gas emissions decrease by 10.1 per cent, but noted that Saskatchewan’s power grid relies heavily on fossil fuels.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric buses were also considered within the report, but cost was a significant factor.
Compared to the base scenario of having diesel buses, life-cycle costs for electric buses would increase by $217.3 million, and for hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses costs would increase by $843.2 million.
City administration said the financial costs weren’t justified by the decrease of GHG emissions, and that there were 40 initiatives identified through the climate action plan that the city could proceed with to reduce emissions. They added that they would continue to monitor the electric-bus landscape.
LINK CONCEPT CHANGES ALONG COLLEGE DRIVE
Several revisions were outlined for the College Drive Link corridor concept after further engineering work and engagement took place.