In-Depth
Lion Electric to supply 1,000 electric school buses

MONTREAL— The Lion Electric Company, a manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, announced that it has received a conditional purchase order for 1,000 all-electric LionC school buses from Student Transportation of Canada (STC), a subsidiary of Student Transportation of America whose controlling shareholder is Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

The purchase order is conditional upon the satisfactory grant of non-repayable contributions to STC under Infrastructure Canada’s Zero-Emission Transit Fund (ZETF.) Under the ZETF program, the Government of Canada aims to invest $2.75 billion over five years to support public transit and school bus operators in the transition to electrification.

Deliveries would begin in 2022 and occur through the first half of 2026. These electric buses would replace existing diesel vehicles within STC’s Canadian fleet. The operator plans on working closely with its customers and partners to determine which school boards would adopt the electric buses if fulfilled.

Lion estimates that the deployment of 1,000 all-electric school buses would help eliminate approximately 23,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, in addition to significantly reducing noise pollution for the communities in which they operate.

“We applaud STC for its leadership and vision to accelerate the deployment of all-electric school buses in Canada, and we thank them for trusting Lion with such an important transition” said Marc Bedard, CEO – Founder of Lion Electric, in a company press release.

“There is still much more work to be done, but STC recognizes that as global stewards we must act to operate sustainably. Electrification is a huge step toward improving the environment for our students and the communities we serve. We look forward to working with Lion, government leaders, our majority shareholder CDPQ and our customers. Together, we hope to move toward a sustainable future,” said Chris Harwood, President of Student Transportation of Canada, in a company statement.

“Driving the next generation to their place of learning in electric transport is a good illustration of our vision for a more sustainable future. This ambitious program, carried out thanks to Lion, the Quebec leader in electric transport, will directly contribute to our commitment to reduce the carbon intensity of our portfolio by 60 per cent by 2030,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure at CDPQ.