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British Columbia Zero-Emission School Buses

Sector(s)
Public Transit
Location(s)
British Columbia
Participation
$30 million
(Under development)
Partner(s)
Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia

High-quality transit service for students with lower carbon footprint

The investment supports the purchase of approximately 280 electric zero-emission buses and associated charging infrastructure over next five years.

Fast facts

Removing the equivalent of 1,458 passenger vehicles from the road / year
High-quality transit service for students
Lower maintenance costs for owners
Sustainable alternative to diesel operated buses

Zero-Emission Buses (ZEBs) are quieter and are expected to have lower maintenance and fuelling costs compared to equivalent greenhouse gas-emitting vehicles. By replacing 280 diesel school buses, the investment will help reduce GHGs by 4,760 tonnes on an annual basis. The buses contribute to the province’s shift toward more sustainable transportation, lowering its carbon footprint while providing a high-quality transit service for students.

Our financing will work in conjunction with funding provided by British Columbia’s Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. We will finance a portion of the ZEB purchase price and will be repaid from cost savings from the ZEB as measured against costs of an equivalent GHG-emitting bus.

Benefits of CIB involvement

Our Zero-Emission Buses initiative assists transit agencies and school bus operators in transitioning their fleets to modern, environmentally friendly vehicles. Our financing, in the form of direct loans and innovative aggregators, can cover the higher upfront capital cost of ZEBs versus diesel buses, with repayment coming only from actual savings generating by operating ZEBs instead of diesel buses. We enable partners to take advantage of flexible financing options to modernize their bus fleets on an accelerated basis.

Learn more

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The electric battery in a BC zero emission schoolbus
Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia

The Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia is focused on cutting emissions from our fleets and providing clean, safe transportation to the school children in our care. By partnering with the CIB, we are at the forefront in providing safe and emissions-free vehicles critical to transporting current and future generations of children.

Frank Marasco, Association Manager
Government of British Columbia

Getting students to and from school in a cleaner, quieter, and more energy efficient way is a major priority for our government, and we are pleased to have more partners onboard. With 18 electric school buses already on the road in our province and more to come, we are saving school districts money while putting future generations on the road to a clean energy future.

Hon. Jennifer Whiteside
Government of Canada

Supporting energy retrofits to existing commercial and industrial buildings go a long way towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the country. The investments being made through the CIB’s Building Retrofit Initiative are critical to helping Canada achieve its goal of net-zero by 2050.

Hon. Sean Fraser

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