Moving Towards Zero Emission

Winnipeg Transit is currently developing a zero-emission roll-out plan to guide future bus purchases and infrastructure investment beyond 2026 and is on track to complete the transition to a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2045. But moving – gradually – towards a zero emission City is not limited to Transit.

The Golf Services Department has also started the process of converting its fleet of golf carts to 100% electric for the 2022 season.

The technology surrounding all electric vehicles continues to evolve on a daily basis and Winnipeg Fleet Management Agency will continue to monitor and look at opportunities to take advantage of converting the fleet over to electric vehicles but budget implications play a factor for success. In the 2022 business plan, City has included that in preparation for future inclusion of additional all-electric vehicles Fleet will commission an all-electric vehicle infrastructure study through a consultant to best prepare for implementation.

Transit

Winnipeg Transit has applied to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) – Public Transit Infrastructure Stream (PTIS) for funding to purchase 105 zero-emission buses (ZEB), as well as charging and hydrogen infrastructure, over the next 5 years. This includes both standard battery-electric buses and fuel cell battery-electric buses, in both 40-ft and 60-ft lengths. Data will be collected over the first 2 years to allow Transit assess the pros and cons of each technology for each vehicle type before solidifying the fleet mix for future procurements and the fleet-wide transition to zero-emission.

One-hundred and five buses is the largest number of ZEBs that can currently be supported by Manitoba Hydro at City’s existing facilities, and it also represents a significant milestone in the transition to zero emission. At that point more than 15% of City’s fleet will be zero-emission, meaning any issues with technology reliability will impact service. It is important that Transit gain significant experience operating ZEBs before expanding beyond having this 15% milestone.

Winnipeg Transit is currently developing a zero-emission roll-out plan to guide future bus purchases and infrastructure investment beyond 2026. Starting in 2027 the fleet transition identified in the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan will begin to be implemented in parallel with the transition to a zero emission bus fleet, resulting in a greater percentage of 30-ft and 60-ft buses and a smaller percentage of 40-ft buses. To accommodate the growing energy demands and space requirements of this transitional fleet, a replacement for Transit’s North Garage facility will need to be built, and facility and utility updates at both Fort Rouge Garage and Brandon Garage will need to be completed before more zero-emission vehicles can deployed from these facilities. The replacement of North Garage is one of the key elements of Transit’s ICIP-PTIS funding plan currently being evaluated by the Province of Manitoba.

Transit is on track to complete the transition to a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2045, but has also been preparing more aggressive transition strategies, including the possibility of re-powering our existing diesel fleet with an electric propulsions system at mid-life, to accelerate this to 2035 if sufficient capital funding were available to do so. Transit’s fleet electrification plans will continually evolve as technologies evolve, and their plans will constantly be re-assessed accordingly.

Winnipeg Fleet Management Agency

The trial & test for City’s two all-electric sedans comes to a close at the end of 2021 and City will have a report for the Standing Policy Committee on Innovation and Economic Development early 2022 regarding operational suitability and future challenges.

Fleet currently replaces light fleet vehicles with hybrid vehicles where operational feasible and if available in the current market. Currently City has 36 hybrid light vehicles and 2 all electric sedans.

Considerations for purchasing all electric vehicles are dependent on what is available in the current market and budget dollars available. For example there are currently no municipal/commercial mowers available in the market only light duty mowers a home owner would utilize for small areas. There are hybrid mowers available for golf courses and City is currently in the process of purchasing hybrid fairway/greens mowers for Golf Services.

There are also some small utility vehicles available that City has purchased. Note that Fleet would require additional Fleet Asset Acquisition capital budget and additional borrowing authority in order convert to electric vehicles. The technology surrounding all electric vehicles continues to evolve on a daily basis and Fleet will continue to monitor and look at opportunities to take advantage of converting the fleet over to electric vehicles but budget implications play a factor for success.

In the 2022 business plan, City has included that in preparation for future inclusion of additional all-electric vehicles Fleet will commission an all-electric vehicle infrastructure study through a consultant to best prepare for implementation. City is hoping this will provide further direction for conversion on the City’s very diverse fleet.

Fleet currently has two Level 3 charging stations, (North end treatment plant and Millennium Library), with future plans to purchase charging stations concurrently with all electric vehicles. Available in the market are Level 1 (120V) chargers (home owners), Level 2 (240V) chargers (overnight charging) and Level 3 (480V) chargers (fast charging). Fleet plans on purchasing Level 2 chargers and where there is an operational need Level 3 charging stations.

Golf

The Golf Services Department has also started the process of converting its fleet of golf carts to 100% electric for the 2022 season. The tender document for a lease of 120 electric golf carts is currently live and closes at the end of November.

As mentioned above, there are hybrid mowers available for golf courses and City is currently in the process of purchasing hybrid fairway/greens mowers for Golf Services. City has also worked with WFMA to convert City’s golf maintenance equipment to hybrid models for the 2022 season, beginning with two greens mowers and two fairway cutters.