PEI’s electric bus fleet proves to be high maintenance

Rachel Collier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Graphic

Compared to the province’s fleet of older fossil fuel buses, a significant percentage of new electrics are out of order at any given time, according to a January email from the Public Schools Branch’s director of transportation, Dave Gillis, to Norbert Carpenter, Deputy Minister of Environment.

The email was obtained by The Graphic through a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy request after multiple requests for interviews with Mr Gillis about bus performance went unanswered.

For now, most electric bus repairs are covered by a Lion Electric Co warranty, according to another email from Clay Moase, Prince County Depot manager, to Mr Gillis.

Lion Electric is situated in Quebec.

Neither the PSB or Department of Transportation answered The Graphic’s questions about when warranties will expire and if the province anticipates a significant increase in maintenance costs once they do.

The standard warranties listed on the company’s website cover the following: five-year limited chassis warranty; three-year limited body warranty; five-year 160,000 mile electric powertrain warranty and eight-year high-voltage battery warranty.

The province entered its first contract with Lion Electric Co to procure 12 buses almost four years ago in June of 2020 and received its first dozen additions to the near 300 vehicle Island school bus fleet in March of 2021.

This means if the province didn’t negotiate longer than standard warranty terms, some coverage will begin to expire soon.

CUPE union rep for Island bus drivers, Robert Geiss said heater issues were one of the most common problems.

“When the heaters go, the big problem is buses start to fog up, there is a visibility issue,” he said.

This isn’t the only problem.

In his email to Mr Carpenter, Mr Gillis noted, issues with brake compressors and coolant leaks in cold temperatures are putting pressure on the system to have a sufficient fleet of spare buses.

“Essentially, more buses are required to service the same volume of travel,” Mr Gillis said.

In a January email to The Graphic a PSB media representative noted other frequent maintenance problems surround electrical wiring, and batteries.

Aside from breakdowns, Mr Gillis highlighted concerns about the range of Lion Electric Co buses to Mr Carpenter.

There are 107 electric school buses in PEI’s fleet. Sixty have an optimal driving range of 200 km, and the remaining can travel 150 km – in perfect conditions.

However, Mr Gillis noted in his email to Mr Carpenter, actual ranges typically fall between 100 and 150 km.

“With a number of routes running in excess of 50 km, electric buses on longer routes MUST charge between AM and PM runs,” he wrote adding, the buses charge 12 to 16 per cent per hour.

That means it would take between six and eight hours to fully charge.

“Range issues become particularly problematic in potential emergency situations such as those involving evacuation and or early dismissal from school,” he wrote. “Significant additional planning and efforts during execution have been required to be able to immediately respond in all such situations thus far.”

Approximately 18,000 students across all three counties rely on electric school bus transportation.

Tendered contracts with Lion Electric Co for buses have totalled $40,016,655 since 2020.

To support charging the buses efficiently, the province has also begun installing charger stations at drivers’ residences.

Since 2020 the province has spent $1,987,588 in contracts to install the province-owned residential chargers. The cost of the chargers is unknown.

Electric buses make up only a third of the Island’s bus fleet today.

However, the province has committed to implementing a fully electric fleet by the end of 2030.

According to the province’s website, manufacturers estimate that using an electric bus compared to a standard diesel, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 23 tonnes, which is equivalent to taking approximately five cars off the road. Electric buses are healthier and safer for children who are at higher risk when exposed to fumes and exhaust.

They are cheaper to fuel and maintain over the longer term, the website states.

“Anytime advances are made or new infrastructure is added, especially with highly technology-driven components, there are growing pains and specifically learning curves associated with implementation,” said a January email from a PSB media representative to The Graphic.

The Graphic requested an interview with the ministers of Transportation, Education, and Environment. There was no response by press time Monday.

The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca.

Learn more about our News Monitoring here.