Calgary has had to pause its planned electric bus pilot project due to a delay in the delivery of the vehicles.
According to an update on the project page, the delivery of 14, 28-foot Vicinity zero-emissions buses has been delayed due to supply chain issues. However, 14 electric bus charging stations were installed inside the Spring Gardens garage.
So far, the City of Calgary has received nearly $500 million in funding to launch its electric bus fleet. In June 2023, the Government of Canada provided $325 million to help buy 259 EV buses, along with necessary upgrades to the Spring Gardens and Anderson bus garages.
Earlier in 2023, the Canada Infrastructure Bank provided a $165 million loan to help complete the bus purchase.
The purchase of these community shuttles for the pilot project, however, began in Q1 of 2022. It was a total project cost of $14 million, with $7 million provided by the Government of Alberta’s Emissions Reduction Alberta grant program.
“Delivery of the zero-emission battery electric community shuttle buses we need for our electric bus pilot project has been delayed as the vendor has had various supply chain issues,” read an email from Jenn Boyer with Calgary Transit.
“We’re working to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”
According to the project page, the pilot would provide an opportunity for the city to familiarize itself with the battery-electric buses, “while validating the operational, economic, and environmental benefits of using BEBs in our system.”
The City wasn’t able to provide any further detail on the length of the delay or the nature of the supply chain issues.
Global supply chain unknowns
Aldergrove, BC-based Vicinity Motor Corp recently began production of vehicles at a newly built, 100,000-square-foot facility in Ferndale, Washington. The company said that will expand its capacity to build its VMC 1200 all-electric trucks.
In a news release from Jan. 18, the company referenced the Calgary Transit purchase of the Vicinity Lightning (TM) EV, along with purchases from the Honolulu International Airport and the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
The EV industry is dealing with increased consumer and institutional demand for products, and with that comes further supply chain issues.
According to several sources that track the industry, the shortage of precious metals used in EV batteries – cobalt, lithium and nickel are among those metals – has hampered the overall supply chain. There were also lingering computer chip supply issues in 2023 that created a backlog for some producers.
LWC contacted Vicinity Motor Corp via email to find further details on the delay in delivery of the Calgary pilot project vehicles. They did not respond to our questions by the time this story was published. We will update our story if more information is received.
Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner said it was disappointing to hear that the delivery of vehicles – and the pilot project – would have to be delayed, especially during a valuable winter testing period. Still, she said they can’t control supply chain issues with other companies and the city will have to bide its time.
Coun. Penner said they’ll have to find more answers on what’s holding up the delivery process. They’ll also have to keep an eye on future procurement, she said.
“Of course, it’s a new and emerging industry and technology,” she said.
“So, the ability to purchase en masse, or to have a great selection of people isn’t quite there yet.”
