Canada/Soon electric buses in Trois-Rivières

The Société de transport de Trois-Rivières (STTR) has received its first all-electric bus, which it plans to put into service on the network as early as next month. However, its range will be four times less than that of hybrid vehicles.

The STTR will receive its second bus next month. Each vehicle was purchased for $1.3 million. However, the Quebec government is financing most of the purchase cost.

By 2030, half of the STTR's fleet of 60 city buses will have to be electric. The vehicle looks like any other, except that it runs on a motor powered by six batteries, four on the roof and two in the rear compartment.

As the STTR's garage has not yet been enlarged or adapted for fully electric vehicles, it has had to install a temporary recharging facility in order to be able to run them.

City Councillor Pierre Montreuil, who is also Vice-Chairman of the STTR Board of Directors, is delighted with this new addition.

In terms of greenhouse gases, this is good news. It's undeniable that the turnaround has begun. It's a big logistical challenge because garages have to be adapted," he says.

The new vehicle skin was created entirely by two members of the transport company's staff. Their concept was preferred to those submitted by graphic design agencies.

Jean-Denis Turcotte, who created part of the bus's visual identity, says he was inspired by the topography of Trois-Rivières, in particular the three arms of the Saint-Maurice River that flow into the river.

However, these buses will have a reduced range of 250 to 300 kilometers. Hybrid vehicles have a range of 1,000 kilometers.

That's eight to ten hours on the road every day, a significant reduction in range if you compare electric buses to diesel ones, according to Mr. Montreuil.

The only reservation I have is that to do the job of a diesel bus, you need almost two electric buses," he says.

He points out that one of the factors that will help is that Trois-Rivières doesn't have as many slopes to climb as other cities.

This first electric bus is being delivered at a time when the city is preparing to raise the registration tax to increase funding for public transport. The mayor wants to add $10 to the $30 currently charged, with indexation each year.

Mayor Jean Lamarche hopes the additions to his bus fleet will help support the development of public transit in the city.

Right now in Trois-Rivières, in terms of ridership, the system we've put in place since 2019 is going well. We're seeing significant increases in ridership," he says.

In budgetary terms, the STTR made a substantial profit last year, and ridership is up. Ridership rose from 413,000 for the first three months of 2022 to almost 627,000 for the same period in 2024, a jump of 52%.

Before the vehicles are put into service, drivers and maintenance staff will have to be trained. City firefighters will also need to be trained, as an electric bus fire requires a different response mode.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca