Halifax launches 60 new electric buses into transit fleet
Halifax has officially launched its 60 new electric transit buses into service, a move the city says will save thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
On Tuesday, politicians, transit workers and municipal staff gathered at the Ragged Lake Transit Centre to mark the end of the first phase of the Halifax Regional Municipality's zero-emission bus project.
The $112-million project, supported by all three levels of government, saw Halifax bring in 60 battery-powered electric vehicles from Nova Bus to replace diesel models. The Ragged Lake depot was expanded to handle the buses and new charging stations, and solar panels were added to the facility's roof.
"It's incredibly exciting. We've been working towards this for a long time and to finally be able to cut the ribbon on this new facility, I think it's a big milestone for Halifax Transit," Anthony Edmonds, project manager of fleet electrification for Halifax Transit, told reporters.
"I think it's a sign of more things to come and the start of a really bright, green future."
The project was first announced in 2021, with the first electric bus arriving in December 2023 for training and road testing. The remaining buses have arrived over the past year, with three entering service this past December.
Some electric vehicles can struggle in winter weather, but Edmonds said Halifax's models have diesel auxiliary heaters that allow them to burn a small amount of fuel on very cold days to increase their range between charges.
"Of course, part of the extensive testing that we've done has been to see what the performance is like in the winter and to make sure that they meet our needs, even on the harshest days when there is a foot of snow on the ground, and when it's –20 and blowing. So we should be all right," Edmonds said.
The buses have a regenerative braking system — hitting the brake pedal charges the battery powering the motor.
The municipality said it expects the new buses to save about 2,800 tonnes of carbon emissions this year in comparison to diesel models. Edmonds said it means saving "thousands and thousands" of litres of expensive diesel fuel every week.
The buses have the same capacity as the current diesel models so passengers might not notice when they board an electric bus, Edmonds said. But the electric ones are much quieter, and there won't be a cloud of diesel fumes when they pull away from a stop, he added.
To make sure people with vision loss know when an electric bus is getting close, each will have an alerting system that sends "unobtrusive warning sounds" when the bus is going slowly, according to Halifax's website.
Edmonds said the buses will be deployed throughout the network because most of Halifax's routes are conducive to electrification. Transit staff will rotate the vehicles between routes to track how they perform in different areas and with challenges like hills.
The total price tag had $45 million coming from the federal government, $37 million from the province and $30 million from Halifax.
Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore said he was "very proud" that the municipality is the first in Atlantic Canada to see a large number of electric buses enter service.
Halifax plans to eventually have about 200 zero-emission buses. The municipality said upgrading the Burnside Transit Centre to a net-zero facility to house those vehicles is Phase 2 of the plan, which is expected to be completed by 2028.
Many of the rest of the buses will be electric, but Fillmore said Halifax is also exploring hydrogen fuel cells to find out what the best mix of technologies should be.
A report coming to Halifax's audit and finance committee Wednesday shows that Halifax plans to convert four diesel buses to a dual-fuel (hydrogen/diesel) system this September for a pilot project aimed to finish in December 2026.
The provincial government is providing $367,500 from its Clean Fuels Fund for the hydrogen pilot, with HRM paying about $122,500.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Accountant hired by Ramal to confirm accuracy of campaign finances fined by CPA Ontario
The Khalil Ramal election spending scandal reveals his auditor was not licenced and has faced discipline for involvement. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe reports. Salah Hassan's failure to cooperate with an investigation by Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) of Ontario has resulted in fines and penalties totaling $13,500 from the profession's disciplinary committee. Hassan provided a written auditor's report confirming the 2022 campaign finances of former mayoral candidate Khalil Ramal. Every candidate who receives contributions or incurs expenses in excess of $10,000 must attach an auditor's report to their financial filing. In August 2023, an anonymous complaint to CPA Ontario, a professional regulatory body, alleged Hassan's work confirming the accuracy of Ramal's campaign finances 'did not meet the standards of the profession'. It cited a story from August 2, 2023 that appeared on CTV News about a meeting of London's Compliance Audit Committee. The news story referred to the unsigned auditor's report included in the campaign's financial filing. The unsigned document read: 'Hi, I am Salah Hassan a Chartered Professional Accountant Licensed by Professional Accountants of Canada, license number 2086643. According to the information provided by Mr. Khalil Ramal, the Mayoral candidate for the City of London, Ontario, for the year 2022 election, after examining the bank statement, donation expenses and Form 4, it appears to me that all the information are correctly entered in the Financial Statement - Auditor's Report candidate - Form 4n. Best regards, Salah Hassan, CPA." 060625 - Ramal Audit Report included by Khalil Ramal with his 2022 campaign finances. (City of London) In September 2024, a ruling by the CPA Discipline Committee determined Hassan committed professional misconduct by not responding to multiple emails and telephone messages from its investigator. 'The nature of the misconduct, being the Member's complete failure to respond to the inquiries of Standards Enforcement, raised concerns about public confidence in the profession's ability to govern its own members,' the ruling reads. He was fined $5,000 for failing to cooperate with a regulatory process plus he was required to pay $8,500 in fees for the hearing. Eventually Hassan contacted CPA Ontario and blamed his failure to respond on health issues, an ill spouse, travel, and a misinterpretation: 'I was in the hospital with my wife and I was so busy with her during the month of September and October and I travelled to Egypt on November 1 for emergency family issues and I returned back on December 26, 2023. I did not have my Canada phone number with me. Please note that I did not violate any rules or regulations in my life or caused any harm to any human being or animals on earth.' The ruling by CPA Ontario states Hassan '… blamed CPA Ontario for the harm to his reputation, reflected a completed absence of insight or remorse.' Subsequently, a Compliance Audit of Ramal's campaign finances by William Molson CPA in April found a number of apparent violations of the Municipal Elections Act including not filing the names/addresses of donors who gave over $100, exceeding the candidate contribution limit ($25,000) by $11,916.27, and using an unlicensed accountant to confirm the accuracy of the document submitted to the city clerk. Molson wrote, 'Hassan did not hold a license at March 31, 2022 or March 31, 2023.' The findings of the Compliance Audit are being forwarded to a prosecutor for possible legal action against Ramal. Hassan's LinkedIn page lists his most recent position as Director of Finance for a business called EK Tech Software Solution. A company by that same name is based in Houston, Texas. However, there is a similarly named company called EK Tech Solutions on Waterloo Street in London. When CTV News called the telephone number included on EK Tech Solutions' website— Khalil Ramal answered. After being asked why Hassan described himself as Director of Finance for the company Ramal replied, 'Yes he did, he did it for a while, for three (or) four months. He did what he did, but he didn't finish. I'm not sure what he did do, but he didn't complete the work for us back then.' A week prior, Ramal was asked by the Compliance Audit Committee what steps he took to verify Hassan was a licensed CPA. At the time he responded, 'The person who I went to was the auditor of a company called Global Financial. I met him there. I know him from there. He has, you know, was an auditor. And also I went to him after that three or four times to audit a few companies.' CPA Ontario confirms Hassan is currently an 'active member', but would not disclose the status of the original investigation about whether his work for Ramal's campaign met the standards of the profession. Unable to find a phone number or email address for Hassan, CTV News accepted Ramal's offer to try to provide Hassan with a reporter's contact information. There has yet to be a response from Hassan.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Company that worked on ArriveCan app banned from government contracts for 7 years
Ottawa says it has banned the largest contractor that worked on the ArriveCan app from entering into contracts or real property agreements with the government for seven years. Public Services and Procurement Canada has announced that GC Strategies Inc. has been deemed 'ineligible' after an assessment of the supplier's conduct. Last year, the department suspended the security status of GC Strategies, which the auditor general says was awarded more than $19 million for the project. That move followed an earlier decision to suspend the company from procurement processes within the department. The government also barred two other companies that contributed to the ArriveCan project, Dalian Enterprises and Coradix Technology Consulting, from participating in procurement opportunities. The federal government launched the app in April, 2020 as a way to track health and contact information for people entering Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to digitize customs and immigration declarations. A report by Canada's Auditor General Karen Hogan found the government's record-keeping was poor and its reliance on outside contractors allowed the cost of the project to balloon to $60 million. The first ArriveCan contract was initially valued at just $2.35 million. On Tuesday, Hogan is set to deliver an audit focusing on whether the contracts awarded and the payments made to GC Strategies and other incorporated companies were 'in accordance with applicable policy instruments' and were good value for money. Public Services and Procurement Canada says the government continues to take action to 'strengthen the integrity of the procurement process.' The Canadian Press has reached out to GC Strategies and to Public Services and Procurement Canada for comment. GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth was ordered to appear before the bar of the House of Commons last year after refusing to answer questions at a committee hearing. Firth was grilled by MPs for two hours, though Liberals opted out of questioning after a doctor's note provided to the clerk of the House recommended that he not appear because of mental-health issues. GC Strategies did not develop or manage the ArriveCan app, but it was tasked by the federal government to assemble a team to complete some parts of the project.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a 'shock-prone' world
OTTAWA — Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds. Article content It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada. He's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time. Article content Article content That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals. Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty 'Go Oilers!' Article content Article content It's a rematch from last year's heartbreak, when the Oilers came oh-so-close to mounting a seemingly impossible four-game comeback against the Florida Panthers, only to fall short by a single goal in Game 7. Article content Article content 'We got inflation down. We didn't cause a recession,' Macklem said in an interview with The Canadian Press after the rate announcement Wednesday. Article content 'And, to be frank, until President (Donald) Trump started threatening the economy with new tariffs, we were actually seeing growth pick up.' Article content Fresh out of one crisis, the central bank now must contend with another in U.S. tariffs. Article content Five years into his tenure as head of the Bank of Canada, Macklem said he sees the central bank's role in stickhandling the economy — as well as Canada's role on the world stage — evolving. Article content Article content Many Canadians have become more familiar with the Bank of Canada in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ignited inflation, the central bank's rapid tightening cycle and subsequent rate cuts were top-line news for anxious Canadians stressed about rising prices and borrowing costs. Article content Article content That was all in pursuit of meeting the central bank's inflation target of two per cent, part of a mandate from the federal government that's up for review next year. Article content Macklem said the past few years have led the Bank of Canada to scrutinize some of its metrics, like core inflation and how it responds to supply shocks in the economy.
