The Town of Oakville is taking electrification seriously after recently announcing a $66 million investment to fund the introduction of electric buses.
Part of the funding will come from the province of Ontario, which has set aside $22.1 million for the project. The remaining funds will from the federal government’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan ($26.5M) and the Town of Oakville itself ($17.6M).
Together, it will be the biggest single investment in transit in Oakville’s history, according to Oakville Mayor Rob Burton.
“The funding from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program will enable us to leverage new technology and work to reduce our environmental footprint while enhancing transit infrastructure and meeting the needs of customers,” said Burton.
Plans call for the electric buses to replace 57 existing diesel buses over the next six years, while another 16 will be purchased to expand the town’s fleet.
The funds will also be used to add WiFi to more than 100 buses, as well as the introduction of a mobile app to track the location and arrival time of buses on specific routes.
Oakville was also the recent recipient of funding from Natural Resources Canada to install 44 new EV chargers.
h/t [Inside Halton]
