Residents of Brampton, Ontario will be able to catch a ride on the city’s fleet of electric buses beginning tomorrow, May 4, 2021.
During a virtual launch event held earlier today, city officials said the fleet will included a total of 8 battery electric buses (BEBs), two from Nova Bus and six from New Flyer. Each BEB is expected to save 235 tons of CO2 emissions.
What makes the deployment of these BEBs in Brampton unique is the charging infrastructure that will support both makes of electric buses.
“It will be the first in the world where vehicles and chargers from different manufacturers can be used in fully interoperable form, meaning they can plug into one another’s charging infrastructure to gain a charge.
Four high-powered (450 kWh) overhead pantograph charging stations have already been installed at three different terminals to allow the BEBs to charge while working. The city says each bus can charge completely in less than 10 minutes.
Designated charging infrastructure has also been installed at the bus depot to allow for charging while off the clock.
The BEBs will launch on Route 26 Mount Pleasant, followed by Route 23 Sandalwood.
In a press release the city notes this to be the largest single deployment of standardized and fully interoperable battery electric buses (BEBs) and high-powered overhead on-route charging systems in the world.
