HRM moves to Phase 2 of Zero Emission Bus Project

CITYnews halifax / By Rachel Morgan

In an effort to make its transit system more sustainable, Halifax Regional Municipality is embarking on Phase 2 of it’s Zero Emission Bus Project.

On May 20, the municipality officially opened the newly upgraded Ragged Lake Transit Centre (RLTC) which would support the rollout of 60 electric buses on the city’s streets.

The retrofitted RLTC included:

• construction of a 3,100 m one-story expansion to the bus storage garage;
• addition of four lanes to the storage building to accommodate an additional 40 buses;
• installation of 67 electric bus charging stalls; and
• installation of a solar array on top of the existing building.

A total of $112 million in joint funding from the governments of Canada, Nova Scotia and HRM was used to fund Phase 1 of the project.

The funding model for Phase 2 includes $6.5 million from the federal government and $7.1 million each from the provincial and municipal government. These funds will be used for planning and design of the new Burnside Transit Centre.

HRM is calling it an “eco-rebuild” which will allow the new facility to support changing fuel models. The new transit centre is expected to open in 2028.

“The longer-term goal is to transition Halifax Transit to a fully zero-emission fleet,” the municipality’s website reads. “Halifax Transit is currently investigating the future of Halifax Transit’s conventional bus fleet, balancing between battery electric and alternative propulsion technologies, such renewable natural gas (RNG), hydrogen fuel cells, etc.”

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