Calgary to save nearly $900K per electric bus over lifecycle compared to diesel: memo

The City of Calgary expects to save nearly $900,000 per electric bus over their lifespans compared to their diesel fleet, according to a newly released city memo.

The memo was released late Friday evening, after council went behind closed doors to ask questions of Calgary Transit about the new electric bus fleet and subsequent costs on Thursday.

Earlier this year, the City of Calgary announced it was purchasing 120 zero emission battery electric 40-foot buses to replace end-of-life diesel buses by 2027.

The plan is set to cost nearly $450 million, to be paid for with $100 million from the city, $123 million in a loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and $220 million from the Zero Emission Transit Fund.

According to the memo, the lifecycle operating and maintenance cost of one of the battery electric buses is estimated to be $815,000 over 16 years.

“This includes electricity, maintenance, and two battery replacement costs. The battery replacement is estimated at $300,000 per bus,” the memo said.

The replacement cost of a battery is estimated at $150,000 at the six- and 12-year mark, the city said, but the batteries come with a six-year warranty.

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By comparison, the memo said the operating and maintenance cost of one diesel bus is around $1.71 million over the same 16-year timeframe, which includes fuel and maintenance costs, like engine and transmission refurbishment at about $80,000 per bus.

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That marks a difference of $895,000 in costs per bus over 16 years.

According to the city, the savings would be used to pay off the loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

To accommodate the electric buses, a total of 128 charging stations will be installed at transit facilities, including 88 at the Spring Garden facility and 40 at the Anderson garage.

The city said having eight more charging stations than the total number of electric buses allows for “operational flexibility” to deploy electric buses from both garages.

The buses will come from Nova Bus, a Canadian supplier that’s part of the Volvo Group, and are manufactured in Quebec.  The company has buses operating in Ottawa and Toronto, with Banff ordering its first electric bus from Nova this year.

The range on the buses is between 340 and 470 km, according to Nova Bus.

The City of Calgary was originally planning to purchase 180 electric buses, but noted it’s buying fewer buses due to “increasing bus costs due to inflation and materials.”

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