RE:Volvo Heavy duty buses....What are we...Medium duty?Nice to see some interesting news and news that would point to a small flaw that they had....hiring 'Mr.BC Transit'.....is very good news for some sales if the price is right I suppose...and now with a 30% drop or so in the greenback to the loonie,our advantage and location should pay off...and the move to 'expand' the offerings is a major move....Volvo should be taken on....even though,they do seem to a have a nice set-up in Mtl...jobs/gov't money...and a very big head start. glta
****The sector probably would benefit with some consolidation...
2021-03-08 08:31 ET - News Release
Prominent British Columbia Transit Leader to Drive Company Expansion
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 8, 2021 / Grande West Transportation Group Inc. (TSXV:BUS)(OTCQX:BUSXF)(FRA:6LG) ("Grande West" or the "Company"), a leading supplier of electric, CNG, gas and clean diesel buses, today announced that it has appointed respected industry veteran and prominent Canadian transit leader Manuel Achadinha as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Achadinha will succeed Jonathan Leskewich, who has transitioned to a focus on product development.
For over 25 years, Mr. Achadinha has built a reputation within the transportation industry for his strong work ethic, results-oriented drive and exceptional ability to forge and maintain strategic alliances. Mr. Achadinha was previously President and CEO of BC Transit from 2008 to 2018, where he led the development and implementation of BC Transit's evolving business strategy. During his ten years as CEO, annual revenue and ridership grew to over $261 million and 51 million passengers, respectively. He represented BC Transit with riders around the province, as well as partners, businesses, government leaders and other key external groups.
Mr. Achadinha also focused on BC Transit's sustainability efforts with a commitment to lead the growth of transit-oriented communities across the province. Previously, Mr. Achadinha served at the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., most recently as Vice President, Terminal Operations, where he was responsible for overseeing the operation of 48 terminals along the coast of British Columbia. Prior to that, he held governmental positions with the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations as well as the Ministry of Employment and Investment. Mr. Achadinha holds a Bachelor of Arts, Economics and a Master of Public Information, both from the University of Victoria in British Columbia.
"On behalf of our board and management team, we are privileged to welcome an industry titan such as Manuel to our company," said William Trainer, Chief Executive Officer of Grande West. "Manuel brings over two decades of leadership experience in the transportation industry, where he built a truly world-class transit authority for British Columbia. His extensive experience and industry knowledge will be instrumental in accelerating our growth as we expand our market dealer network, scale production and capacity, and market our new line of innovative electric buses.
"In conjunction with the appointment of Manuel, due to the advancements in Grande West's new product lines - particularly with the electrification of the Vicinity™ buses - Jonathan Leskewich will be moving to a product development role. Jonathan has over 17 years of transportation experience, and 22 years heavy duty experience with alternative fuels, emissions, compliance and regulations. He will continue to bring his in-depth understanding of the entire product development process at Grande West to the new role and will direct our team in the life-cycle of the continuously improving line of Vicinity buses."
The Company also announces that it has granted an additional 300,000 incentive stock options to Mr. Achadinha at an exercise price $2.40 for a period of five years. The options will vest in equal tranches every six months over a three year period.
About Grande West Transportation Group
Grande West Transportation Group (TSXV: BUS) (OTCQX: BUSXF) (FRA: 6LG) is a leading supplier of electric, CNG, gas and clean-diesel buses for both public and commercial enterprise use in the U.S and Canada. The Company's flagship line of Vicinity™ buses, which maintain a dominant market share in Canada, are produced by the Company's world-class manufacturing partners or at the Company's Buy America Act compliant assembly facility in Washington state. Grand West's innovative Vicinity Lightning™ EV bus, enabled through a tier-1 strategic supply agreement with BMW batteries and components, seeks to lead the global transition to more sustainable transit vehicles in the private and public markets. For more information, please visit www.grandewest.com or www.vicinitybus.com for product details.
wwmeinc wrote: About time for somebody,anybody with connections to this show...drop some news.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/translink-battery-electric-bus-1.5887957 The first fully battery-electric bus line in Metro Vancouver will be up and running in 2022, according to TransLink, thanks to a $16 million investment from Canada's gas tax fund.
In a joint announcement, the federal government and TransLink said the money will be used to purchase 15 battery-electric buses from Canadian manufacturer Nova Bus. The vehicles will run on the No. 100 route through New Westminster, Burnaby and Vancouver.
Outgoing TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said the acquisition of the buses will more than quadruple the company's current fleet of four battery-electric buses.
"Our plan is to continue to replace diesel buses being retired… with all zero-emission battery-electric buses," he said.
Martin LaRose, general manager of Nova Bus, said the vehicles being sold to TransLink will have a battery range of around 350 to 450 kilometres.
The buses can be charged in approximately five minutes at charging stations while picking up passengers.
Nova Bus is based in St. Eustache, Que., and is a division of Swedish-owned Volvo Buses.
Almost a third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, said Desmond.