The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), which claims to have the largest fleet of electric buses in North America, is now deploying its third new electric bus model.

The TTC has approved procurement of 60 electric buses from three manufacturers: New Flyer, Proterra and BYD Canada. Approximately 35 e-buses are already in service across the city. The remaining 25 are currently undergoing final testing and commissioning activities, and are expected to be in service by the end of September.

The differences among the three bus models, including charging and overall performance, will be put to the test in a head-to-head comparison, and the TTC will use the results to inform its future procurements of battery-electric buses.

TTC outfitted its Arrow Road Garage with charging infrastructure for its New Flyer vehicles, and equipped its Mount Dennis Garage with the same charging technology for its Proterra buses. Whereas the New Flyer and Proterra buses use DC charging, the BYD vehicles use an AC system. They will based out of the TTC’s Eglinton Bus Division.

Toronto aims to reduce its local greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. As a part of that strategy, it has set a target date of 2040 to electrify all its transit buses. The Government of Canada and the City of Toronto have invested $140 million in this project under the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF).

“Our government’s investment in the TTC’s electric bus pilot program is a sign of our commitment to made-in-Canada clean technology and an important step toward our target of 5,000 electric buses in Canada’s fleets over the next five years,” said The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

“Electrification is the future of public transit, and I’m proud that the TTC has been established as an industry leader in this regard, as the owner of North America’s largest fleet of e-buses,” said TTC Chair Jaye Robinson. “The TTC Board wholeheartedly supports the TTC’s forward-thinking plan to achieve a zero-emissions fleet by 2040.”

Source: Toronto Transit Commission