Quote:
Originally Posted by ilikeredheads
The additional buses are only if they exercise both options though, since the initial order is only 106 40' buses. Plus it makes little sense to run 40' on those routes anyways.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they already have a like couple hundred battery buses on order that's meant for the marpole depot? I see the trolley options as a backup plan in case the battery buses don't pan out.
|
You're correct that the conversation is entirely speculative, as it appears that nobody on here (including me) understands exactly what the 'options' would deliver.
With the 106 confirmed replacement buses plus Option 1 it would suggest a slight expansion of the existing trolley capacity. 106 plus Option 2 would add quite a bit of capacity, which might suggest some expansion of the trolley network, possibly in line with TransLink's comments about examining the option of operating some RapidBuses or BRT as trolleys. And if 106 plus both Options 1 and 2 were acquired, then that would definitely mean that additional trolley capacity is going to be added.
So far, I think only the additional 15 Nova buses for the #100 have been confirmed, added to the two NFI and two Novas bought previously. The new Marpole garage will be able to service and store around 350, and the other TransLink garages are also going to need to be converted to service electric buses too. Altogether TransLink operate around 1,500 diesel, diesel hybrid and CNG buses, and the plan is for all of those to become zero emission vehicles by 2040. Using some more trolleys rather than the existing fleet could contribute to the transition, which is presumably why the RFP has been issued, to see how much that that might cost.