Edmonton explores ways to replace aging transit buses amid $240M funding shortfall

The City of Edmonton is exploring ways to replace its aging ETS bus fleet, as hundreds of the buses are nearing, or going past, their expected lifespan.

The Edmonton Transit Service’s fleet is made up of about 968 buses. Of those, 797 are conventional 40-foot buses.

At Tuesday’s urban planning committee meeting, ETS branch manager Carrie Hotton-MacDonald told councillors that 322 of the fleet’s 40-foot buses will need to be replaced in the 2023-2026 budget cycle at a cost of $257.6 million.

Currently, due to financial constraints, 22 buses are funded to be replaced during that time at a cost of $17.6 million, leaving a $240-million shortfall.

“We have to figure out how we find the resources to replace those old buses, which we have to do and we are committed to doing,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said.

“People do rely on bus service to move around the city and we are improving that. We need to make sure that we are also replacing the old buses to continue to have access to service.”

Over the last 17 years, the ETS has consistently replaced an average of 48 conventional buses per year. The reason hundreds are nearing the end of their life at the same time is because of large purchases of buses in 2007 and 2009, when the system added 355 buses, Hotton-MacDonald explained.

“When we buy buses in big numbers at once, it puts pressure on future budgets to maintain that same level when we need to replace them, which is what we’re seeing now,” she explained to councillors.

2:02 Valley Line LRT ridership numbers lower than other transit in Edmonton

The North American average for retiring 40-foot buses is about 15 years, Hotton-MacDonald explained. Edmonton currently retires buses at the 18-year mark. The city is able to get a few more years out of the vehicles due to mid-life refurbishment typically done around the nine- to 10-year mark.

“Think of it like a makeover for the mechanical aspects and the body of the bus,” Hotton-MacDonald said.

As a way to further extend the lifecycle of aging buses, many vehicles are now going through a second refurbishment later in their life. By 2027, some of the buses in the fleet will be 25 years old or older.

“We’re stretching these vehicles as long as we possibly can,” said director of transit fleet maintenance Derek Hanson.

The benefits of a younger fleet

A younger fleet costs less to maintain overall. It also leads to increased service reliability because there are fewer issues with buses breaking down and running late.

A portion of the ETS fleet is reserved for “spare buses,” a small pool of vehicles kept aside at any given time to respond to breakdowns, bus contingency if there are issues with LRT service, and to allow time for bus maintenance, refuelling and washing.

Hotton-MacDonald said the ETS’s current spare bus ratio is higher than normal at 24 per cent.

A younger fleet would reduce the spare bus ratio, leading to more buses on the road, a more efficient fleet and increased ridership, Hotton-MacDonald explained.

Where will the money come from? What are the options?

Tuesday’s report to councillors was mainly to inform them of the current situation. City staff have been tasked with putting together a report with options, to be brought back to council at a later date.

The city is making a significant funding commitment — $240.5 million — to replace 37 light rail vehicles within the LRT system. The cars, known as “U2s,” are over 40 years old and will be pushing 50 by the time they’re all replaced.

The manufacturer designed lifecycle for these vehicles is around 30 years with proper maintenance. The city expects the LRVs will be replaced by 2029.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Coun. Anne Stevenson asked city staff if there was an option to revisit the replacement of the LRVs and to reallocate some of the money to bus replacement.

Hotton-MacDonald was quick to recommended against that idea.

“Our poor old U2 train cars are falling apart, I’m not going to lie.”

One option being explored is a lease approach, which is not well-established in Canada but is more commonly used in European cities.

The lease approach would fund bus renewal using the operating budget, with the operating budget being funded through savings associated with reducing the fleet age.

“Maybe there’s an opportunity to lease buses, that we can have a long-term arrangement with the manufacturer,” Sohi said.

1:52 Edmonton city councillors discuss future of transit funding

Councillors and staff also discussed the federal government’s permanent public transit fund, which would allocate $3 billion per year to help improve access to public transit and active transportation across Canada. However, Hotton-MacDonald pointed out the program has not yet received treasury approval and would not begin until 2026-27.

“Is there a way for us to advance some of that money in anticipation of what we will get from the federal government?” Sohi pondered about the federal program.

“There’s ways to move forward and we will find a way to move forward.”

A timeline for when the report is due back to council has not been released.

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