Latest news with #InvestinginCanadaInfrastructureProgram
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Cost of new buses needs double take, per Whitehorse city staff
Prices are increasing for the City of Whitehorse transit fleet expansion On May 5's standing committee meeting, councillors heard that the city's budget will need to be changed to adjust for a nearly $500,000 price increase on an order for five buses. Originally the budget item was marked down as costing $4,109,924, funded with the federal government's Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program's public transit stream. That initial cost estimate was made in 2024. However, prices have increased beyond what was expected and those five buses now cost $495,000 more. Aside from the now confirmed cost of the buses being higher, the additional $495,000 includes a contingency of 3.5 per cent to buffer against any impacts from tariffs or supply chain issues. The $495,000 would come from the Transit Equipment Reserve, a pot of money that can only be used for public transit purposes. That fund clocked in at $4.7 million as December 31, 2023. More recent numbers won't be available until information for the 2024 fiscal year has been finalized, which will happen in the coming months, as per a city spokesperson. Valerie Braga, the city's director of corporate services, told councillors the fund hasn't been used much in the past because there have previously been easy ways of finding funding for public transit. However, moving forward, it looks like finding that funding will be more difficult, she said. The city's contract for the buses is with Quebec-based Nova Bus, said Richard Graham, the city's manager for fleet and transportation. That said, the company has assembly plans on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. 'We are fairly confident in the pricing, and we are hopeful that we wouldn't need the 3.5 per cent. The wild card is just what may happen globally in terms of additional costs,' said Graham. 'In terms of the costs from Nova Bus as long as we award within the time limits on the pricing, then that price would be fixed for the delivery.' Two of the buses being ordered are set to replace two buses within the city's fleet. Both of the buses due for replacement are from 2008, with over 1 million kilometres on them each. The remaining three buses on the order would be additional buses to bolster the city's fleet. The transfer payment agreement for the new buses is in the final stages but not yet quite solidified — however, Graham said that it would not be long before the agreements are signed. The buses are currently on appendix B of the budget, which means they're not purchased until there is confirmation of external funding — in this case, the money from the federal government. 'So no purchase order or anything can be written until such point as we get the TPA. But once we do, it moves into Appendix A, and the buses can then be ordered,' said Braga. The buses are currently scheduled to be delivered to the city sometime in 2026 or 2027.
CBC
14-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Infrastructure funding top of mind among Sask. urban municipalities
Social Sharing The cost of improving and building new local infrastructure — and who will pay for it — has become one of the focuses at this year's annual conference of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA). SUMA president Randy Goulden said the federal government's Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is already tapped out. "I've talked to so many municipalities, our members, these last few days very concerned because the program, it's allocated fully. There's nothing else coming out and it is essential that we get some funding," Goulden told media during a scrum on on Monday. WATCH| SUMA airing Sask. cities' key election issues: Infrastructure, interprovincial trade: SUMA airing Sask. cities' key election issues 6 hours ago Duration 3:50 The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) is meeting this week for its annual convention. Jean-Marc Nadeau, CEO of SUMA, joined CBC Radio's The Morning Edition to discuss what issues matter to civic leaders this federal election. Goulden stressed that municipalities are not asking for handouts. She said they want to be partners with the federal and provincial governments. "We need those things so that our communities can continue to be sustainable and provide the jobs and the industry and the commerce to make our province healthy, but also to feed everything that the province has to do around health and education," Goulden said. Provincial political leaders respond Held in Saskatoon, this year's SUMA conference featured appearances from Premier Scott Moe and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck. Moe agreed with Goulden, saying a new infrastructure program should be a priority for whoever forms government after this month's federal election. Moe said inflation has affected every municipality in the province. "We will need a new long-term stable infrastructure funding model so that municipalities can plan, and so that they can cost-share not only with the federal government, but with the provincial levels of government as well," Moe said. Beck said she agrees that the federal government needs to lend a hand, but also accused the provincial government of a lack of action. Beck said she's spoken to many urban officials at SUMA and at other events and heard the same complaint — that the funding the province provides to municipalities isn't enough. "[Municipalities] are responsible for about 60 per cent of the infrastructure in this province, but they have access to only less than $0.10, about $0.08 for every dollar. That is simply not a workable situation without support from other levels of government," Beck said. Moe touted his government's "record increase" in municipal revenue sharing as proof of how serious it takes the issue of infrastructure. In its 2025/2026 budget, the province boosted municipal revenue sharing by $22 million to a total of $362 million. That was a 6.3 per cent increase from the previous year's budget. Moe said that money is disbursed to municipalities with no strings attached and that makes it a "one-of-a-kind program." Goulden thanked the province for that increase. The SUMA president also urged the province to meet with municipalities as soon as the federal election is over to "hit the ground running" and ensure all levels of government are on the same page.
CBC
26-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
As P.E.I. faces funding drop, road builders urge Ottawa to keep the cash flowing
Social Sharing Road builders on Prince Edward Island are urging the federal government to keep infrastructure cash flowing into the province, with a deal to fund major road projects approaching its end date. P.E.I.'s latest funding agreement with Ottawa includes roughly $200 million over a 10-year period from the federal government's Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program and New Building Canada Fund. That funding is set to end in the next two to three years, and no replacement fund has been set up yet to give reassurance to long-term planners. Mike Annear, with Kings County Construction and the P.E.I. Road Builders Association, says that's startling to workers in the industry — given that the money is being used to meet the province's growing demand for major road projects. The province needs those federal dollars. — Mike Annear "It can be devastating to our industry, and actually to the Island. We'd like to see the budget increase. It's starting to increase in some of the other provinces; we need it to increase to catch up with the growth," he said. "If you start adding all these housing [projects] and these people, we need to increase the amount of money that's going back into our infrastructure. So the province needs those federal dollars." P.E.I. must secure long-term funding, minister says Last week, transportation ministers from across the country met in Quebec with many topics on the agenda — including federal funding. "My provincial and territorial colleagues and I were able to share our concerns with the federal government with regard to transportation infrastructure funding, notably roads," Québec's minister of transport, Geneviève Guilbault, said in a release. P.E.I.'s minister of transportation, Ernie Hudson, echoed that point in a provincial news release Monday, calling on Ottawa to put a new funding model into place. "We must secure stable, long-term federal investment to maintain and improve our system," he was quoted as saying in the news release. The provincial news release noted that when the transportation ministers met, the federal minister pledged to take their funding concerns to the Liberal cabinet. In the province's fall 2024 capital budget, the P.E.I. government estimated it would spend more than $67 million on paving, roads, bridges and more in the next fiscal year. Annear says federal funding is critical to keeping Island roads cared for and creating new roads as P.E.I.'s population grows. Without that commitment, he said it's hard for businesses to plan for the future. "Everything that's going on today, it makes me uneasy," he said.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Winnipeg Transit unveils first zero-emission fuel-cell bus
Winnipeg Transit unveiled its first zero emission bus on Wednesday. But while the city expects to receive dozens more zero-emission buses over the next few years, supply chain issues, budget pressures and looming tariff threats have thrown the city's plans to phase out its diesel fleet into doubt. Erin Cooke, manager of Transit's transition to zero-emission bus program, says the city will test two types of buses — hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric — in 40-foot and 60-foot sizes. The fuel cell bus the city received is the third such vehicle in service in Canada, Cooke said. "So we're cutting-edge right now, when it comes to technology, for testing this out," Cooke told reporters during a news conference at Transit's Osborne Street garage. "We do have other zero-emission buses that will be arriving this year, which will include the first 60-foot [electric] buses in Canada, as well as battery electric buses as well." The buses include a mix of fuel cell electric, which charge with hydrogen, and battery electric, which can be plugged into a charger. With $280 million from all three levels of government through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, the city expects to purchase a total of 90 zero-emission buses, including 70 battery electric and 20 fuel cell vehicles. Half of the 16 buses expected this year will be fuel cell, and the other half will be battery electric. Half will be 40 feet in length, and the other half will be 60 feet. The city expects to receive another 24 zero-emission buses next year. A 40-foot battery electric bus costs around $1.56 million, while a fuel cell bus costs about $1.9 million. A diesel bus costs approximately $900,000. Hydrogen buses can run for 24 hours, while battery electric buses can run for 10 to 15 hours. Fuel cell buses are entirely zero-emission, while battery-electric buses must include a small diesel generator to heat the battery in cold weather. The city participated in a pilot project to test four zero-emission buses from 2015 to 2018. Zero-emission plans scaled back The city has already scaled back its plans to purchase more zero-emission buses. It had planned to buy 100 buses with the funding from ICIP, but had to reduce its orders due to supply chain issues and cost pressures. The 2025 budget includes a directive to resume purchasing diesel buses in 2027. Public works chair Coun. Janice Lukes isn't sure the city will meet its goal of an all-electric fleet by 2045. "The city would love to have all electric buses, but unfortunately unless we have other level of government support, we won't be able to afford them," she said. Cooke says the city could still meet the target. "As long as we make choices sort of in the 2032 timeline … that target's is still totally achievable," she said. Josipa Petrunic with the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium says looming tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada could cut the number of electric buses the city can afford even further. "Buses get more expensive, and all of a sudden the city that has so much money can buy many fewer buses from what it planned," Petrunic said. There are currently 632 buses in the city's fleet. The city says the new buses will begin limited service in April, after the spring schedule change.
CBC
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Winnipeg Transit unveils first zero-emission fuel-cell bus
Winnipeg Transit unveiled its first zero emission bus on Wednesday. But while the city expects to receive dozens more zero-emission buses over the next few years, supply chain issues, budget pressures and looming tariff threats have thrown the city's plans to phase out its diesel fleet into doubt. Erin Cooke, manager of Transit's transition to zero-emission bus program, says the city will test two types of buses — hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric — in 40-foot and 60-foot sizes. The fuel cell bus the city received is the third such vehicle in service in Canada, Cooke said. "So we're cutting-edge right now, when it comes to technology, for testing this out," Cooke told reporters during a news conference at Transit's Osborne Street garage. "We do have other zero-emission buses that will be arriving this year, which will include the first 60-foot [electric] buses in Canada, as well as battery electric buses as well." The buses include a mix of fuel cell electric, which charge with hydrogen, and battery electric, which can be plugged into a charger. With $280 million from all three levels of government through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, the city expects to purchase a total of 90 zero-emission buses, including 70 battery electric and 20 fuel cell vehicles. Half of the 16 buses expected this year will be fuel cell, and the other half will be battery electric. Half will be 40 feet in length, and the other half will be 60 feet. The city expects to receive another 24 zero-emission buses next year. A 40-foot battery electric bus costs around $1.56 million, while a fuel cell bus costs about $1.9 million. A diesel bus costs approximately $900,000. Hydrogen buses can run for 24 hours, while battery electric buses can run for 10 to 15 hours. Fuel cell buses are entirely zero-emission, while battery-electric buses must include a small diesel generator to heat the battery in cold weather. The city participated in a pilot project to test four zero-emission buses from 2015 to 2018. Zero-emission plans scaled back The city has already scaled back its plans to purchase more zero-emission buses. It had planned to buy 100 buses with the funding from ICIP, but had to reduce its orders due to supply chain issues and cost pressures. The 2025 budget includes a directive to resume purchasing diesel buses in 2027. Public works chair Coun. Janice Lukes isn't sure the city will meet its goal of an all-electric fleet by 2045. "The city would love to have all electric buses, but unfortunately unless we have other level of government support, we won't be able to afford them," she said. Cooke says the city could still meet the target. "As long as we make choices sort of in the 2032 timeline … that target's is still totally achievable," she said. Josipa Petrunic with the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium says looming tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada could cut the number of electric buses the city can afford even further. "Buses get more expensive, and all of a sudden the city that has so much money can buy many fewer buses from what it planned," Petrunic said. There are currently 632 buses in the city's fleet. The city says the new buses will begin limited service in April, after the spring schedule change. Winnipeg Transit's first zero-emissions bus arrives 40 minutes ago Duration 1:37 The first of Winnipeg Transit's new electric buses has arrived. The city expects to receive dozens of zero emission buses over the next two years. The city says the new buses will begin limited service in April, after the spring schedule change.
