These 27 school buses, developed by the Québec company Lion, will enable Transdev Canada to reduce its emissions by 99%, compared to diesel buses, in its school transport networks operating in Québec, in the Estrie and Montérégie regions. Transdev Canada has maintained a technical and commercial partnership with Lion since 2016.
Thanks to this investment, Transdev Canada is, to date, the largest private operator of electric school buses in North America, increasing its fleet to 31 operational electric buses by the end of 2020.
Press release
DownloadTransdev has chosen to develop a specific energy transition in Canada because of its dynamic local ecosystem and the fact that the energy produced locally is mainly hydroelectric and therefore among the cleanest in the world. In Canada, Transdev’s ambition is to electrify 100% of its fleet of school buses in Québec by 2025.
This Québec investment benefits from the “Programme de soutien au déploiement des autobus scolaires électriques au Québec”, which is part of the Québec government’s 2015-2020 Transportation Electrification Action Plan.
We wanted to demonstrate a strong commitment regarding energy transition, and in particular to serve the younger generations who are the public transportation passengers of tomorrow. The crisis we are going through has only strengthened our conviction: we have a responsibility to make strong choices in this area. We have done so with two key partners: the Québec government, whose support is crucial to our electrification strategy, and Lion, a local Québec company with which we have been working for a long time.
Transdev leader in energy transition in Europe
At the end of 2019, Transdev already operated more than 800 electric buses (829 electric buses operated at end of December 2019) worldwide and expects to have a fleet (operated and on order) of 1,200 electric buses (batteries and hydrogen fuel cells) by the end of the year.
In Europe, Transdev is already the leading operator of battery-powered electric buses with its bus networks in the Netherlands in Amsterdam – Schiphol, Eindhoven, Sweden in Göteborg, and in many networks in France (Greater Paris region, Valence, Southern region…).
In addition, beyond battery-powered buses, Transdev is one of the pioneers of hydrogen and fuel cell electric buses, with experimental networks in the Netherlands.
Transdev Netherlands (Connexxion) will go into commercial operation at the end of 2021 in South Holland with 20 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. In France, Transdev has been operating in commercial service since November 2019 the country’s first electric BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line, comprising six hydrogen buses, in the Hauts-de-France region (TADAO network, Artois-Gohelle).
With this investment in Canada, Transdev is further strengthening its leadership position in electric buses.
In April 2019, Transdev announced the acquisition of the Voyago Group. With this acquisition, Transdev Canada now has 2,600 employees serving 36 million trips per year in Québec and Ontario, for a 2019 turnover of €125 million.
As a leading operator and global integrator of mobility, Transdev gives passengers the freedom to move whenever and however they choose. We are proud to provide 11 million passenger trips every day, in 20 countries, with efficient, easy to use and environmentally-friendly transportation services that connect people and communities. Our approach is rooted in long-term partnerships with public authorities and businesses, and in the relentless pursuit of the safest, best quality and most innovative mobility solutions.
For more information: www.transdev.ca or download the MY Transdev app from the App Store or Google Play.