St. Albert, Alberta — A $2.9 million deal between the federal government and U.S.-based Highland Electric Fleets will see five new electric school buses added to St. Albert, Alberta’s municipal school district fleet.
These new electric school buses will provide a clean mode of transportation to students from 15 schools across the St. Albert Public School Division. Highland Electric Fleets are working with Cunningham Transport Ltd., a local school bus transportation provider, to deploy the new electric buses, along with the associated charging infrastructure, said the Alberta government.
The only other city and municipal district with electric school buses in its fleet is Parkland County, near Edmonton.
About $1.34 million of financing for the project came from Canada’s zero-emissions Transit Fund (ZETF), marking the first time the fund has been used to purchase electric school buses.
Alberta isn’t the only province making moves to electrify school bus fleets; just last week, Maritime provinces were reportedly weighing their options when it comes to the feasibility of electric school buses in the province. Prince Edward Island already has dozens of electrified buses in its school fleets.
