The City of Hamilton approved their 2022 capital budget, which included a $9.5 million commitment for the green fleet strategy.
The strategy consists of sweeping changes to investments, fleet vehicles and EV infrastructure.
The green fleet strategy was presented to Hamilton city council back in May.
However, the 2022 capital budget was the first time council could put money behind the strategy.
The Hamilton Street Railway will add nine expansion busses operating entirely on natural gas to the fleet.
The cost of these nine buses totals $7 million.
Further, the city is investing $2.5 million in upgrading 89 internal combustion vehicles to EVs over the next three years.
This move will reduce emissions by the city fleet by 18.4% by 2024.
In addition, the city is installing 24 more EV charging stations across the city. Hamilton already installed twenty of these chargers.
The city submitted funding applications to Natural Resources Canada for an additional 49 charging stations earlier this year.
As well, the city is investing in 25 cycling projects in 2022.
In 2021, the city built 11 km of new bicycle lanes, upgraded 5.4 km of existing bike lanes and finished 4.8 km of multi-use trails.
The city hopes to continue the move to zero-emission vehicles and hopes to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
The overall goal of the city is to be net-zero before 2050.
