(Quebec) Quebec manufacturer Nova Bus lands a $2.2 billion contract to supply 1,230 electric city buses to Quebec transit companies, La Presse has learned . These green vehicles will be “produced and assembled” at its Saint-Eustache plant.
The company, a subsidiary of the Swedish Volvo group, won what is considered to be the largest public tender for the construction of city buses in North America.
Quebec and Ottawa will announce it soon. They share the bill, which turns out to be higher than expected.
It was estimated that the cost would be around $1.1 million per bus, which would have given a total of just under $1.4 billion. But the bill is more like 2.2 billion, an increase of around 55%.
Quebec Promise
This ambitious contract stems from a promise by Prime Minister Franois Legault in the fall of 2021 on the sidelines of the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. He then announced an investment of 5 billion to electrify 55% of the urban bus fleet by 2030. Of this sum, 2.4 billion was intended for the purchase of 2,148 electric buses; the rest was used to build and convert garages. We now have proof that the operation will be more expensive.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, ARCHIVES SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The Premier of Quebec, Franois Legault
A year ago almost to the day, the Legault government gave the green light to launch the process to acquire a first fleet of 1,230 buses, 12 m electric vehicles. They are intended for the nine transport companies – Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Longueuil, Lvis, Outaouais, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivires and Saguenay – and for exo, which operates bus services in the metropolitan area. The Socit de transport de Montral was designated as responsible for this group purchase.
Quebec has required a minimum of 25% Canadian content and final assembly of buses in Canada, in accordance with international trade agreements. A company outside Quebec could therefore get hold of the contract. Last year, Franois Legault nevertheless said that he had no doubt that the buses would be built here. Nova Bus finally won the bet. It was reported to La Presse that the vehicles would be "produced and assembled" at the Saint-Eustache plant; moreover, it could not be ruled out that certain elements would be carried out outside Quebec.
The first buses will be delivered next year. The contract runs until 2027.
Crucial needs
To measure the size of the contract, it suffices to make a few comparisons with other public transport projects.
For the Quebec tramway, which regularly makes headlines, Alstom Transport Canada has just won a contract worth 569 million to supply what is known as the “rolling stock” – the trains will be assembled at the La Pocatire plant. . In the case of the REM, the largest public transport project of the last fifty years in Quebec, Alstom obtained in 2018 a contract of 2.2 billion for the supply of 212 light metro cars, which are built in India.
The contract won by Nova Bus aims to electrify the urban bus fleet, but also to meet crucial needs. Hundreds, if not nearly a thousand, of transport company vehicles are “end of life” or about to be.
Last year, Quebec said it expected that the electrification of 55% of the urban bus fleet would eventually eliminate the emission of approximately 131,500 tonnes of CO 2 per year. That's the equivalent of nearly 40,000 fewer cars on the road.
Carbon neutrality target by 2050
The Legault government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Quebec by 37.5% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. It has so far identified about half of the necessary measures. to succeed.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
In June 2018, the STM awarded a $941 million contract to Nova Bus to acquire up to 830 hybrid buses.
The government's roadmap can be found in the Plan for a Green Economy by Environment Minister Benoit Charette, Member of Parliament for the riding of Deux-Montagnes, which includes the city of Saint-Eustache.
According to the report made public in December, GHG emissions in 2020 were 13.2% below 1990 levels, a result boosted by the effect of the pandemic. As proof, 2019 emissions were only 3% lower than those of 1990. The transportation sector remains the main emitter of GHGs and weighs down the Quebec balance sheet year after year.
The Legault government aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This mission, as has been indicated many times, involves a vast electrification operation that will require no less than 100 additional terawatt hours of energy. That's 50% of Hydro-Qubec's current production. The state-owned company plans to build a hydroelectric structure on the Petit Mcatina River (Cte-Nord). It is also counting on new wind farms and energy efficiency measures.
NOVA BUS IN BRIEF
Specializing in the construction of city buses, Nova Bus was founded in 1993. The following year, the young company manufactured its very first bus model, the RTS, for Rapid Transit System . And since then, it has been a leading player in the public transport ecosystem.
As early as 1996, Nova Bus introduced its LFS ( Low Floor System ) model, whose technology is still used today on the streets of the metropolis, but also in other cities around the world. It was in 2006 that the company presented its first hybrid bus model. Then, in 2013, a natural gas model was offered.
In 2017, a page turned: Nova Bus delivered its first three fully electric buses to the Socit de transport de Montral (STM). Recently, in June 2018, the STM also awarded a $941 million contract to Nova Bus, to acquire up to 830 hybrid buses. Their delivery has been underway since 2020 and should continue until 2024.
In Quebec, Nova Bus is now considered one of the major players in the urban bus niche. A subsidiary of the Volvo Group, it is based in Saint-Eustache and Saint-Franois-du-Lac. Its electric models are already circulating in the cities of Montreal, Brampton and Vancouver.
Henri Ouellette-Vzina, La Presse