Milton Leads Way in Sustainable Transportation with Canada’s First Electric Bus

The new electric bus in Milton is the first of its kind in Canada, representing a significant milestone in the transition toward sustainable transportation. A new project is underway in the Town to convert one of its buses from diesel to electric, with the help of local company MTB Transit Solutions. Milton hopes to use the project as a test case to determine whether or not to transition the entire bus fleet to electric power.

According to Tony D’Alessandro from Transit Services, the project will provide valuable information about metrics such as fuel savings, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and maintenance costs, helping Milton move closer to its environmental sustainability goals. A quarter of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from vehicles like diesel buses.

“It’s really going to give us a lot of information about metrics, how much diesel we’re saving, about how much Greenhouse gas emission reductions we’ll be seeing, what the maintenance costs going to look like,” says Tony D’Alessandro from Transit Services.

The conversion process, which will take approximately six months, involves removing the diesel engine, transmission, and radiator and replacing them with a smaller electric motor and batteries. The project’s total cost is estimated to be around $900,000, which includes charging units, vehicle components, and training.

The benefits of the electric bus extend beyond environmental considerations to include a more comfortable ride with less noise and vibration for passengers. MTB Transit President Gara Hay sees great potential for extending the project to other forms of transportation, such as school buses, mining vehicles, and garbage trucks.

The electric bus is expected to hit the road in early 2024, following the completion of the conversion process by the end of the year.
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Laura Steiner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter