City of Regina says $26 million coming from Ottawa for bus electrification

The City of Regina says its plan to electrify its fleet of buses has been given a big boost. 

The city confirmed to CBC News that it is being awarded $26 million via the federal government's zero emission transit fund. 

The money will help Regina upgrade the infrastructure at the city's transit fleet maintenance facility on Winnipeg Street to accommodate electric buses.

It will also help cover the costs of purchasing 26 electric buses from 2024 to 2026. 

The decision is being welcomed by Mayor Sandra Masters, who appeared to inadvertently reveal news of the funding during a post-city council scrum last week.

"We're well on our way in terms of electrifying for the future into the next number of years," said Masters. 

Infrastructure Canada, which administers the zero emission transit fund, has yet to announce its decision to cover part of the transit upgrades in Regina. 

It did not immediately provide comment when asked on Monday. 

Transitioning away from diesel-fuelled buses was part of Regina's Transit Master Plan, which was approved by city council in May 2022. 

The plan lays out how, starting in 2024, Regina will only purchase buses that are battery powered. That will allow the city to gradually replace all of its diesel fuelled buses with electric buses by 2040. 

The $26-million award from the federal government is expected to cover half of the $52-million cost for the upgrades and new buses. 

Upgrading the facilities infrastructure will take from 2023 to 2025, with the city's first electric buses to arrive in 2025. 

The infrastructure upgrades are the latest in a series of retrofits at the city's transit maintenance facility

A $31-million modernization of the facility was completed in 2020.