York Region Transit receives C$76 million from Zero Emission Transit Fund to increase electric bus fleet

York Region Transit (YRT) has received C$76 million (US$55.9 million) from Canada’s Zero Emission Transit Fund to help increase the agency’s electric bus fleet.

The funding, in addition to the C$136 million (US$100 million) contribution from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and C$177 million (US$130 million) investment from the York Region, brings the total budget for the Canada Infrastructure Bank Zero-emission bus program to C$389 million (US$285.9 million). 

The funding will help support YRT’s plan to: 

• Add 180 electric buses to the fleet, which will increase the total number of electric buses to 194. 
• Install charging stations throughout the York Region. 
• Make upgrades to current facilities to include solar power and battery storage. 

YRT began an electric bus pilot program in 2019, which has been steadily grown during the past few years. YRT will continue to purchase and deploy electric buses to help support York Region's goal of net-zero emissions by 2051. The new buses will reduce emissions by almost 16,000 metric tons per year, which is equivalent to removing about 4,000 vehicles from the road.