The government of Canada and the city of Brampton will provide joint funding of C$1.1 million (US$808,000) to plan the electrification of the city of Brampton’s transit system.
Funding will support Brampton Transit as the agency undertakes its Zero Emission Bus Implementation Strategy and Rollout Plan. The plan will guide Brampton’s transition to a full fleet of zero emission electric buses. The study, being undertaken by Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), includes cost and saving assessments, fleet and facility requirements, energy as a service, resourcing, risk analysis and advanced predictive modeling for bus deployment.
The city of Brampton plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The transition to zero-emission buses is anticipated to cut approximately 115 metric tons of CO2 emissions per bus every year, and approximately 53,000 metric tons annually – which is the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars from the roads.
“Our 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets are ambitious and require a whole-of-society approach. Since 2015, our federal government has made historic investments in public transportation worth C$26.7 billion (US$19.6 billion) to support thousands of transit projects across the country. This is in addition to further measures announced in budget 2023, which will bring total federal investments supporting climate action to over C$200 billion (US$147 billion). As we move toward the goal of a cleaner environment, a greener economy and good-paying jobs for the future, I applaud the city of Brampton to be part of the solution as the transition to zero-emission buses will provide cleaner, more efficient transportation options to residents of Brampton and help us meet our emission reduction goals,” said Canada Minister of Seniors and Member of Parliament for Brampton West Kamal Khera.
The government of Canada is investing C$880,000 (US$647,000) in this project through the Zero Emission Transit Fund, and the city of Brampton is contributing C$220,000 (US$161,000). Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested more than $26.,7 billion (US$19.6 billion) in public transit projects for communities across Canada - the largest public transit investment in Canadian history.
The government of Canada is investing C$10 million (US$7.3 million) through the Zero Emission Transit Fund over five years to allow CUTRIC to work with transit bus operators to complete planning work and increase their level of readiness to transition to zero emission bus fleets.
“The City of Brampton is proud to continue our collaboration with CUTRIC in their capacity as the National Zero Emission Bus Planning Service for the government of Canada. Thank you to our federal partners for their investment in Brampton’s Zero Emission Bus Implementation Strategy & Rollout Plan, which is required to help us plan our transition to a full fleet of zero-emission buses in the city of Brampton. Transit electrification builds on Council’s Climate Emergency declaration in support of building a green city and helps to achieve the goals established by the government of Canada, including the ultimate goal of becoming net zero emissions by 2050,” said Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton.
“Addressing climate change and preparing for a climate-changed world starts with cities. CUTRIC is proud to work with the city of Brampton and Brampton Transit who, like us, are driven by technology and the need to trail-blaze zero-emission public transit in the country. This project will further support the transformation of Canada’s carbon mobility landscape and hopefully encourage other cities and communities to consider a clean transit overhaul of their own,” said Josipa Petrunić, president and CEO, CUTRIC.
