Saskatoon leases electric bus for 1-year test drive

Saskatoon Transit has a special new vehicle in its garage.

An electric bus will hit the streets as part of the city's public transport fleet. 

The city estimates the one-year pilot project will cost $533,600, with $234,300 coming from the Green Municipal Fund administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

"We know that transportation is changing," said Mayor Charlie Clark during a Tuesday news conference. 

Testing the bus is "a first step in helping us prepare for that adaptation. Just look out in the world of automotive and transportation. These changes are coming."

The city expects the bus to reduce 50.3 tonnes of CO2 per year and save around $27,500 in fuel costs compared to a diesel bus. 

Cost of ownership cheaper in the long run

One of the 40 actions in Saskatoon's low emission community plan is to have a 100 per cent electric transit fleet by 2030. Replacing all buses within the next ten years will be financially challenging, said Saskatoon Transit director Jim McDonald.

"Right now the [electric] bus behind me is approximately $950,000 if you were to buy it," said McDonald.

The price tag for a new diesel bus would be slightly more than half that cost, according to McDonald.

He expects electric buses to last up to 18 years. Together with the reduction of fuel and maintenance costs, "total cost of ownership even at that price brings it in cheaper than a diesel bus," McDonald said.

Saskatchewan winters

One focus during the trial year will be Saskatchewan's frigid winters. Other prairie cities like St. Albert, Alta., seem to have had positive experiences with electric buses during winter time, according to McDonald. Diesel engines, on the other hand, have caused problems in Saskatoon when temperatures drop.

"Every time it's 20 or 30 days of intense cold ... 25, 30 per cent of that fleet goes down," said McDonald.

"When we talk to the people in St. Albert, they had zero buses off the road on their electric fleet in that same period of time when we had a 25 per cent reduction."

One of the benefits of electric buses will be improved air quality at transit terminals and along bus routes, the city said.

History of electric vehicles in Saskatoon

While the leased electric bus is currently unique among Saskatoon Transit busses, it's not the first time electric vehicles have provided public transportation in the city. Electric street cars were part of the Saskatoon Municipal Street Railway Company, which was formed in 1913.

In 1948 the city introduced an electric trolley system, giving the current new bus its unit number, 1948.

"It's a trolley without wires," said McDonald. "Our operators are going to love them."