How Much Do Those E-Buses Really Cost?
What is the actual total cost of acquiring the 350 electric buses?
That would include the purchase price of the actual buses, the cost of re-configuring the garages and adding the charging infrastructure, the cost of the generators since Hydro Ottawa can’t provide enough electricity, the cost of new tools times two complete sets, the cost of training drivers and mechanics on two different models of buses, and any other costs attributable to the electric buses.
Remember that we still have to provide tools and training, etc. for drivers and mechanics for the diesel buses that will be with us for a while since we aren’t buying enough electric buses to replace the whole fleet.
How much interest are we paying on the loan from the feds – that’s the one that was presented to Council originally as a grant program? Supposedly free money which turned out not to be free. What benefit, if any, did we get from signing up for that money?
What’s the expected life span of these buses and will we have paid off all the associated costs before they head to the bus graveyard?
Since the buses aren’t powered by clean electricity but gas-powered generators, we aren’t getting the environmental benefits that were part of the sales pitch to Ottawa City Council and the community. So why is it again that we’re rushing to adopt a technology that other communities have tried and are abandoning to return to diesel buses?
I don’t imagine OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar will be available any time soon with an explanation of the whole electric-bus program. She no doubt doesn’t see it as any of our business. After all, we’re just the people who pay the bills for the constant series of boondoggles over at OC Transpo.
The Voter is a respected community activist and long-time Bulldog commenter who prefers to keep her identity private.
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Ouch!!
And the initial concept of eBuses originated …? And the auditor general wasn’t exactly enamoured by the whole proposal including the cost because …?
So the transit commission and council at the time voted to approve regardless because …?
Ineptness is more than evident from the previous council to the existing, from the top down at city hall.
They have not a care in the world because they don’t care. Whatever in the moment makes them look responsible and concerned is the ramp they take.
A prudent councillor might ask staff for a compare/contrast report on what was initially presented to council for approval and what is being delivered. While it is likely too late to make material changes it will never be too late to understand how far from the initial council approval staff have strayed (again).
Your comment is that the electric buses “aren’t powered by clean electricity but diesel-powered generators”. I seem to recall that natural gas generators were involved. Am I confused?
Sorry, Brocklebank, my mistake. It’s hard to keep all of OC Transpo’s missteps straight! Ken’s corrected it now.
Donna,
My recollection is that it was your favourite councillor, Mr. Hubley, the then-chair of the Transit Commission, who brought the idea forward to Council when word of the federal money came. I think he was the one who presented it as a grant fund, not a loan, and most of Council fell for it. It was also presented as something that had to be jumped on quickly meaning that we had no time to look into it properly or to finish the pilot we had running at the time with the hybrid buses. So yet another uninformed decision to spend billions without knowing the facts.