Over $7.78 million in total funding from the city, province and federal government was announced on Friday to improve transit infrastructure in the Sault, including the purchase of two electric buses and an electric charging station.
Over $2.58 million of the funding will go toward the electrification of the transit system, including the purchase of two battery electric buses and a charging station, About $3.1 million of the funding will come from the federal government, with $2.58 being provided by the province. The final $2.09 million will come from the municipal government.Brent Lamming, the city's director of Community Services, said these investments are coming at a good time, as ridership numbers are likely to exceed the two million mark for the first time ever in Sault Ste. Marie.
"The one thing that you do get with electric buses, obviously, there's reduced . You have reduced maintenance costs because you don't have a diesel motor," he said. "You do have to replace the battery approximately every seven years, but net there are some good savings over the years. He noted the Sault was the first northern Ontario community to convert to electric Zambonis for its rinks, and said that has been a success.