Saskatchewan

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

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 city says.

1st electric bus to be delivered in 2025

A Regina Transit bus stops to unload passengers on 11th Avenue in Regina.
The City of Regina says the first electric buses for Regina Transit will be delivered in 2025. (Bryan Eneas/CBC News)

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. 

A graph depicts how the City of Regina plans to transition away from diesel buses towards electric buses.
All buses purchased from 2024 onwards should be battery electric models, resulting in a gradual replacement of the fleet with alternative technology vehicles by 2040, according to the city's Transit Master Plan. (City of Regina)

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. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexander Quon has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be back working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in municipal political coverage and data-reporting. He can be reached at: [email protected].