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All-electric Type C school buses ready for operation in Canada

Posted: 14 December 2018 | | No comments yet

Keolis Canada’s 14 electric school buses will travel 448,000km per year and transport 770 students from the Commission scolaire des Affluents school board.

type c

Keolis Canada has ordered 12 all-electric Type C school buses from The Lion Electric Co., representing one of the largest transactions in the Quebec bus manufacturer’s history.

This transaction is on track with public opinion, as 92 per cent of Quebeckers want school boards and schools to increase their use of electric buses.

With this order, Keolis Canada will become the operator of the most Type C electric school buses (the standard school-bus model in North America with a 72-seat capacity).

Patrick Gilloux, President and Chief Operating Officer of Keolis Canada, said: “We are very excited to transport a new generation of Quebec children in the Lanaudière region with these electric school buses. Keolis is actively engaged in promoting better living in the territories it serves and puts a lot of energy into developing and deploying new electric transportation methods because, for us, they represent the future of public transit and our vision of the transportation of tomorrow.”

The vehicles will be deployed starting in 2019 on Montreal’s North Shore, specifically in the territory of the Commission scolaire des Affluents, with a range of up to 250km per charge. Overall, these 14 buses will allow the company to cut 3,864 tonnes of CO2 over the vehicles’ lifetimes.

The LionC electric buses are manufactured and fully assembled in Quebec, in Saint-Jérôme. They are the only electric Type C school vehicles manufactured in North America that can provide optimal transportation conditions in any weather.

In the context of this transaction, The Lion Electric Co. surveyed Quebeckers and received a clear message: they want more electric transportation. The survey highlighted that 92 per cent of Quebeckers think that electric transportation is a good way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 93 per cent think that governments should encourage the electrification of transportation, 93 per cent think that switching from diesel buses to electric buses would improve air quality, and 87 per cent think that diesel bus emissions have a negative impact on the health of children who take these vehicles.

Thomas Duzyk, Chair of the Commission scolaire des Affluents, said: “The Commission scolaire des Affluents is very pleased that our transporter, Keolis Canada, has purchased these electric buses to use in our territory. Thanks to this initiative, every day hundreds of children will be taken to school and back home in an environment that is healthier for them and for the planet.”