Montréal and the nearby suburb of Laval intend to electrify their bus fleets – the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) and the Société de Transport de Laval (STL) have committed to buy only electric buses after 2025.

The two transit agencies have awarded New Flyer Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of NFI Group, a contract for 40 forty-foot battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses. New Flyer bid successfully against two competitors.

The notice to proceed for the pilot bus is expected by the end of October 31, and the notice to proceed for the production buses is expected following a nine-month review of the pilot bus.

The buses will each have a 466 kWh battery, and will use depot-based charging.

New Flyer is powering ahead with electrification. The company’s Xcelsior CHARGE electric buses are already operating in cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Portland and Palm Springs. In 2017, New Flyer opened the Vehicle Innovation Center, a lab dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology.

“New Flyer is proud to deliver on Canada’s largest battery-electric, zero-emission bus procurement,” said Jennifer McNeill, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “We remain committed to creating more livable cities through engineering smarter and more efficient buses, and working collaboratively with industry leaders such as STL and STM to deliver connected, zero-emission public transit solutions.”

Source: New Flyer