CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The president of T3 Transit is hoping to upgrade his fleet this year.
Mike Cassidy has a line on three used buses that will be used to help keep the service going another year or two until the service can get its hands on some federal funding for new vehicles.
The service receives ongoing funding from Charlottetown, Stratford, Cornwall and the province.
The City of Charlottetown has indicated in its capital budget that $500,000 has been set aside for the purchase of the used buses. The federal government will pick up 40 per cent of the cost and the province will handle 33 per cent, while the remaining 27 per cent will come from Charlottetown, Cornwall and Stratford, the three municipalities served by the transit service.
Cassidy calls it a “Band-Aid’’ solution.
“It’s a measure to protect this year because we have to wait almost two years to get new buses,’’ Cassidy said. “The group is working towards the purchase of new buses, but it takes 18 months to two years to get new equipment.’’
Cassidy said if he’s able to get these three used buses they will be used to help share the load for the current fleet. They won’t be additional buses for the fleet and they won’t be used to replace any existing vehicles.
“You cannot be using them each and every day, putting on 250,000 kilometres (a year) because they are pre-owned. You have to treat them with tender loving care. These three will allow us to spread out the kilometre usage.’’
Coun. Terry MacLeod, chairman of Charlottetown’s environment and sustainability committee, said getting the three buses isn’t a done deal yet.
MacLeod said they would eventually like to try some new things with the service, such as expand it, but that’s down the road.
“In the short term we have to keep (it) going and, in the long term, we are reapplying to the federal government again for things like the electric bus and to buy some newer ones,’’ MacLeod said.
In January, the City of Charlottetown applied to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for $20.5 million to invest in a fleet of electric transit buses.
Cassidy said, in the end, it could be a combination of electric and diesel buses that they end up getting.
