001-43_EJQR9_SUMMER26_PT - Flipbook - Page 25
With that fund in place, she notes that “It was the 昀椀rst time transit
agencies and cities had to plan for zero emissions, and if they weren’t
going to buy zero emissions buses, they had to prove why not. In other
words, they had to do the (necessary) physics and economics,” to justify
not purchasing non-polluting buses.
Yet another challenge for cities like Saskatoon is “it’s not an optimal time to go to zero
transmissions,” she adds, due to the pollution trade o昀昀 and the fact that Saskatchewan’s grid is still predominantly powered by fossil fuels. “It’s not necessarily going to
be a slam dunk for you to go buy 100 electric buses right now,” but rather wait until the
grid gets cleaner and the cost hopefully comes down.
As a result of that program, Petrunic says urban transit services across
the country are going green much faster than expected. “We’ve gone
from almost no (electric) vehicles being promised (in city budgets
across the country) to over 5,000 (that have been ordered, funded or
serviced). So given that the entire 昀氀eet is only about 25,000 vehicles,
within a few years, about 20 per cent of the 昀氀eet being has been
committed to electri昀椀cation.”
Embracing a half-full perspective
But she admits there remains a roadblock for many municipalities
despite the federal funding. Due to a combination of in昀氀ation, tari昀昀s
and a supply chain crunch as a result of some bus companies going out
of business “the price of buses went up 30 per cent and it hasn’t gone
back down.” Then again, she says “that (increase) is not just for electric
buses but all transit.”
It’s a positive but practical mindset in the face of adversity that will win the day for our cities
as they grapple with unprecedented 昀氀ooding, temperature swings and air pollution.
While an urban climate polycrisis arguably is at our doorstep, the other reality is that
a concerted “poly-response” is underway on multiple fronts. Actions are positively
impacting urban quality of living to the point whereby with the right resources,
fortitude and creativity, we might just be able to make our cities cleaner and greener in
the coming years.
Mark Douglas Wessel is an urban journalist and communications consultant.
He writes a regular column called Green Living for Postmedia.
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