Brampton transit earns sustainability award
Brampton Transit has been singled out for its environmental sustainability work.
At its Annual Conference and Transit Show held earlier in the month, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) handed an Environmental Sustainability Award to Brampton Transit for the fleet operator’s electric bus trial.
The award category recognizes businesses and transit systems whose activities or projects achieved a positive impact on current environmental issues and challenges facing the transit industry. It recognizes all kinds of innovations, including new concepts, processes or the redevelopment of existing equipment that result in cost saving or measurable environmental benefits, in alignment with CUTA’s Transit Vision 2040.
“Congratulations to Brampton Transit on winning CUTA’s environmental sustainability award for its successful 2021 electric bus trial,” said CUTA President and CEO Marco D’Angelo. “Public transit has always reduced greenhouse emissions. By using zero-emission buses, it can play an even larger role in helping Canada meet its climate targets.”
On May 4, Brampton Transit launched the largest global deployment to date of standardized and fully interoperable battery electric buses (BEBs) and high-powered overhead on-route charging systems. The launch was part of the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium Pan-Canadian BEB Demonstration and Integration Trial. In total, Brampton Transit has added eight BEBs to its fleet, two from Nova Bus and six from New Flyer.
Brampton joins TransLink and York Region Transit in this global-first, multi-city deployment of fully interoperable buses and charging systems in partnership with Nova Bus, New Flyer Industries, ABB Inc., Siemens Canada, and Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd.
It is 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, resulting in zero tailpipe emissions.
“The global-first Pan-Canadian Battery Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial in Brampton is a milestone in environmental sustainability,” said Mayor Patrick Brown. “We have collaborated our partners to further enhance our city’s transit network with great environmental benefits. Brampton is a Green City, and a leader in sustainability. Thank you to our partners and stakeholders for helping make this recognition possible.”
The BEBs will also achieve near-zero emissions in their lifecycle. Each bus can charge completely in less than 10 minutes, and saves an estimated 235 tonnes of greenhouse gases per bus, per year.
Featured image: Brampton Transit’s electric bus trial has been recognized with an Environmental Sustainability award from the Canadian Urban Transit Association. (Brampton Transit)