Calgary to seek new electric shuttle bus provider after original contract cancelled

Calgary Transit is going backmost to the marketplace for a tiny fleet of electrical shuttle buses aft it was forced to cancel its archetypal declaration owed to delays.

The archetypal declaration was signed with Vicinity Motor Corporation successful June 2021 to proviso 14 electrical shuttle buses for the pilot, but the declaration was scrapped “earlier this year.”

“Unfortunately, they suffered respective delays successful their accumulation of the buses,” said Stephen James, a elder technologist successful Calgary Transit’s work vehicles division.

“It conscionable became evident to america that we didn’t deliberation we were going to get these buses truthful we decided to cancel that contract.”

However, determination person been questions astir the city’s woody with Vicinity aft aggregate reports suggest the institution is facing receivership.

Vicinity Motor Corporation did not respond to Global News’ petition for comment.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said suggestions the metropolis is inactive successful a woody with the institution is “misinformation that needs to beryllium dispelled”

“We are not successful a declaration with a institution that has gone under,” Gondek told reporters. “We person been precise cautious astir however we’re doing immoderate benignant of procurement.”

As the metropolis prepares to tender a caller declaration for the aviator project, officials support Vicinity was not paid immoderate funds allocated for the task owed to the “nature of the contract.”

“(Vicinity) could lone invoice america and we would lone beryllium capable to wage them erstwhile they delivered buses,” James said. “Because they ne'er delivered immoderate buses, we ne'er paid them.”

The aviator task is acceptable to outgo $14 million, with $7 cardinal provided by the Government of Alberta’s Emissions Reduction Alberta assistance program.

According to the city, a caller petition for connection is acceptable to beryllium enactment to marketplace successful the coming months to bargain betwixt 5 and 7 electrical shuttle buses.

Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean questioned whether the metropolis should proceed with the aviator project, calling the cancellation of the archetypal declaration “a large informing sign.”

McLean besides pointed to this year’s upcoming fund deliberations, with a headdress connected spending and assorted priorities astir infrastructure needs.

“People aren’t precise happy, they don’t privation america to walk a clump of their payer wealth connected electrical buses close now,” helium said. “How astir we perceive to them for a change?”

The aviator task for electrical shuttle buses comes astatine the aforesaid clip Calgary Transit seeks a vendor for up to 180 zero-emission 40-foot electrical buses.  Transit said the program is to grant that declaration adjacent year, with transportation of the buses successful 2026 and hitting the roadworthy successful 2028.

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Those longer buses are portion of a semipermanent program to regenerate 259 diesel buses with electrical ones portion upgrading accompanying infrastructure utilizing $325 cardinal successful assistance backing from Infrastructure Canada’s Zero Emission Transit Fund, a $165 cardinal indebtedness from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and $100 cardinal from the city.

According to Calgary Transit, the 40-foot electrical buses don’t necessitate a aviator due to the fact that they person “proven nationalist transit work hours successful climatic conditions similar Calgary,” portion the electrical shuttle buses request a investigating phase.

“There conscionable isn’t jurisdictions retired determination that are moving electrical shuttles astatine the moment,” James said. “We person rather a fig of shuttle buses successful our fleet that that volition yet request to beryllium transitioned to zero-emission implicit clip excessively and truthful that’s thing we’re truly looking to try.”

Fourteen electrical autobus charging stations person been installed wrong the Springs Gardens store arsenic portion of the aviator project.

The metropolis is besides transitioning to utilizing 450 compressed earthy state buses by 2027 with upgrades and fueling stations already implicit astatine the Stoney Transit Facility.

“I deliberation it’s important we person a divers fleet,” Gondek said. “To person electrical buses arsenic good conscionable improves the diverseness of our fleet and I deliberation it’s important to bash that.”