Québec, RTC to launch a 30-units e-bus tender towards public transport electrification. Chargers commissioned to Hitachi Energy

In Québec (Canada) Réseau de transport de la Capitale’s (RTC) Board of Directors authorized a loan by-law of $61 million for the acquisition of 30 electric buses by 2026. This is an important milestone towards the electrification of its public transport fleet.

The arrival of these initial 100% electric buses for the public transit agency of Quebec City area will mark the beginning of the transition to the operation of a fleet of electric buses, since these are the first vehicles that will be operated at the Newton facility, RTC’s third operations facility entirely dedicated to electrification.

RTC also announced the awarding of a contract to Hitachi Energy for the acquisition of charging equipment to be used for RTC’s 100% electric bus trial project. It’s the supplier first award for a bus charging infrastructure in North America.

Quebec, RTC to electrify the bus fleet

These 30 buses will arrive at RTC following a joint call for tenders, for which the Société de transport de Montréal will be the agent, and that will be coordinated by the Association du transport urbain du Québec. This call for tenders is scheduled to be issued in 2022.

It should be noted that, as of 2025, the Québec government will only finance the acquisition of 100% electric vehicles in accordance with its 2030 Sustainable Mobility Policy.

As mentioned above, RTC also announced the awarding of a contract to Hitachi Energy for the acquisition of charging equipment to be used for RTC’s 100% electric bus trial project. To this end, RTC recently confirmed the lease of three LFSe+ buses from Nova Bus, it is specified. This three-year project also aims to test all the equipment and systems required for their operation. The trial project will begin before the end of 2022.

Since this is a new technology, RTC will conduct tests to validate the compatibility and performance of the charging equipment with several models of electric buses available on the market. These tests, which will be conducted in collaboration with Hitachi Energy and other transit companies, will provide relevant information on the integration of the technologies and guide future tenders.

“The transportation electrification project is central to the 2018-2027 Strategic Plan, and RTC is doing everything possible to strategically deploy this important energy transition. With the creation of a project office dedicated to electrification, the acquisition of the Newton facility and the deployment of the pilot project for the testing of 100% electric vehicles, RTC is ensuring that it is properly orchestrating the important process that is underway and that will provide benefits for everyone,” said Maude Mercier Larouche, RTC President.