Calgary Transit buys electric shuttle buses for long-awaited pilot

Source: Helen Pike · CBC NEWS · | June 14, 2021

Battery-powered community shuttles to start service in 2022

Source: Calgary Transit is getting ready to test battery-powered shuttle buses in winter weather. (Helen Pike/CBC)

Calgary Transit will use electric vehicles for some community routes starting next year.

Transit purchased 14 Vicinity Lightning EV shuttle buses from Vicinity Motor Corp. for delivery and operation in 2022. 

The idea is to test how these smaller vehicles work for Calgary Transit's community routes — especially over the winter, when there's snow on the ground and buses are running heaters to keep passengers warm. 

Calgary Transit has been eyeing battery-powered buses since 2018.

Transit's first bus order totalled $6 million for 14 vehicles, and it can expand the fleet for a fixed price, according to a five-year deal with Vicinity Motor Corp. 

The city also secured $7 million in funding for the pilot project from Emission Reduction Alberta (ERA).

Sleek shuttles

The buses won't look like your typical community shuttle, said Karen Alm, acting transit fleet manager.

Shuttle are about half the size of a regular bus, which is 40 feet (12.2 metres) in length.

"They're the same size [as the regular shuttle] but they'll look more like a 40-foot bus in shape," Alm said.