Halifax Transit to study electric buses

Halifax Transit wants to study bringing electric buses to the city. 

In a tender put out last week, Halifax Transit said it is partnering with Nova Scotia Power to study various types of electric bus technology and where it could be most effective. 

"We feel it's the right time right now," said Wendy Lines, the manager of the maintenance department at Halifax Transit. 

Two options for electric buses 

There are two types of electric buses: One uses overhead charging systems that do a four-minute quick charge at a terminal. The other type uses large battery packs that need to run all day and then plug in overnight for a trickle charge. 

"We're looking for the best mix, the best fit for Halifax Transit and the way its network works today," Lines said. "Obviously, cost is going to guide this as well, and the one that doesn't diminish our service reliability." 

The study will look at which type of charging infrastructure would work best. It will also make a recommendation on which routes would be best to for a trial. There are three options: 

• The Sackville Terminal, Routes 80 and 87
• The Portland Hills Terminal, Routes 59 and 72
• The Dartmouth Bridge Terminal, Routes 41 and 60

An early estimate for the costs of a pilot to buy buses and the infrastructure to charge them could be between $1 million and $1.5 million, though Lines cautioned that number could change. She said if the pilot project goes ahead, Halifax Transit could be shopping for the buses in 2018-19. 

The city's layout could present some scheduling challenges for electric buses, but they could still work on the right route, says former Halifax Transit director Eddie Robar. He's now the head of Edmonton's transit system, which completed an electric bus trial last winter. 

How will climate affect buses?

Robar now has a proposal before Edmonton council this week to purchase between 25 and 40 electric buses. 

That trial used trickle charges at a garage, giving the buses about a 250-kilometre range. 

"Obviously with the expansiveness of the HRM, or Halifax proper, it's a bit of a challenge. There's going to be some scheduling challenges if you're going to do long distances. It depends on how many you buy, though," said Robar. 

"I think Halifax, as spread out as it is, would have some challenges with the longer stuff, like to the airport. It wouldn't be able to run all day on the airport line. But there's certainly plenty of space to put a smaller amount of them into the system, and then you can look over time as the technology gets better, the range gets better, it'll be more flexible." 

Robar said a big part of the Edmonton trials was to see how batteries would react in deep winter cold. He thought winter temperatures in Halifax would not be a problem for electric buses. 

"Just from the climate side of it, I don't see that as an issue," he said. "I would be interested to see what the sea salt air does, just corrosion and things like that. Those are things that we have to learn over time with electrification and these buses."