Local school bus company gets $44M boost to electrify fleet

The federal government is contributing millions in funding for the electrification of school buses in the London area.

Langs Bus Lines, which operates hundreds of buses in the region, will receive roughly $44 million for the purchase of 200 electric school buses by 2026.

The funding, announced on Thursday by London Liberal MPs Peter Fragiskatos and Arielle Kayabaga, comes as the Strathroy-based company looks to transition half of its aging diesel fleet to zero-emission buses, a handful of which it rolled into service early last year.

Kevin Langs, vice president of Langs Bus Lines Ltd., attended Thursday's announcement at the company's London office, and expressed delight at the financial support.

"Thousands of students in our service area throughout southwestern Ontario will benefit from a safe, emissions-free ride every school day," he said in a statement.

$22.2 million of the funding comes from Ottawa's Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF), while $22.4 is a loan from the Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB), whose CEO, Ehren Cory, was on hand Thursday.

"Diesel buses significantly contribute to carbon emissions across the country and there is an important opportunity to transform the school bus market to electric," Cory said in a statement.

It's estimated the buses will cut 4,200 tonnes worth of greenhouse gas emissions every year, about what 550 homes consume in energy annually. A single charge lasts around 150 kilometres, and takes about six to eight hours.

According to the government, a portion of the ZETF funding will go toward the installation of charging infrastructure and facility upgrades at five southwestern Ontario sites, and a feasibility study to inform Lang's electrification plans.

Once in service, the 200 electric buses, provided by Quebec-based Lion Electric, will run on Lang's busiest routes in the London, Sarnia, Strathroy, and Woodstock areas, serving more than 9,000 students.