MOOSE JAW — Spending money to maintain gravel roadways is more important to city council than paying a Toronto-based consultant to determine whether the city’s transit service is ready for zero-emission vehicles.
City administration presented a report during the May 12 regular meeting urging council to approve a transit zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) feasibility study for $190,600, with $152,480 coming from a federal Infrastructure Canada (IC) grant and $38,120 potentially coming from municipal coffers.
The municipal contribution would include $18,120 from the gravel roadways budget and $10,000 each from the transportation division’s consulting services and legal support lines. However, administration hoped the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) would cover this amount with a grant.
The consultant, the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium in Toronto, would analyze the city’s transit fleet, route and infrastructure requirements and provide recommendations on the eventual phase-out of diesel buses and implementation of zero-emission vehicles.
The catch with the federal grant is the consultant must complete the work by Dec. 31, so it must start the work this month.
Coun. Chris Warren attempted to amend the motion to say that council would approve the study only if the city received the IC and FCM grants. However, council defeated that amendment, so he introduced a receive-and-file motion that council unanimously approved — killing the proposed study.
An uncertain future
Warren said that electric buses have an uncertain future, while it would cost Moose Jaw $1.6 million to $1.8 million to purchase just one vehicle. Moreover, it would have to upgrade its bus barn, install charging machines and factor in the vehicles’ additional weight on roads.
Continuing, he questioned whether this investment made sense for a small city like Moose Jaw, considering council already subsidized transit services heavily. He also preferred to “seek the will of the market” by tendering the study instead of giving it to the Toronto-based consortium.
Warren’s other concerns were he didn’t remember reading about this initiative during the 2025 budget discussions and didn’t want to reduce the maintenance of gravel roads. Also, he thought next year’s transportation master plan could analyze e-buses during the overall review of the transportation network.
Meanwhile, if the feds plan to pursue their net-zero emissions plan, Warren thought they should provide funding to municipalities to cover the increases in moving from diesel to electric.
“To have a small municipality with a small ridership have to take that on by itself is probably unrealistic,” he added.
Limited viability
This study would be the first step in a much larger process, although it could have a limited immediate effect on the city’s transit needs, said Coun. Carla Delaurier. Moreover, Moose Jaw might not have the infrastructure or population to justify spending this money.
Continuing, she said that if the city moved toward zero-emission transit buses, that would cost more money, which may not be justifiable with current ridership numbers.
A push-pull situation
Bevan Harlton, director of operations, said cities across Canada face a “push-pull situation” since they are being forced into acquiring different technology for their bus fleets. Conversely, city hall is finding that suppliers are limiting and reducing saleable vehicles with “conventional engines.”
“We’ve hit that procurement wall, that challenge to procure 30-foot diesel buses,” he said, noting that the federal government requires this type of study for future funding.
The operations department wants to see the results of this study and what third parties are saying about electric buses, although in-house mechanics say they are not the answer, Harlton added. Also, this study would complement the transportation master plan.
Chiming in, city manager Maryse Carmichael said she shared council’s concerns about whether e-buses are viable for Moose Jaw. However, she pointed out that “it’s pretty rare” for two organizations to fund 100 per cent of a project’s cost. Therefore, this was an opportunity to explore whether ZEV buses were “the right solution.”
Carmichael added that there is $400,000 in the gravel roads budget and the $18,120 represented four per cent of that.
Meanwhile, Harlton said removing money from the gravel roadways account — chosen because it’s not connected to capital projects — would lead to less gravel laid and fewer maintenance passes; there are 50 kilometres of rural-area connecting roads and 80 kilometres of in-city gravel lanes.
Lack of success
Coun. Patrick Boyle said Ottawa was intruding on municipal governments’ authority by forcing them to conduct studies to receive funding for other projects.
Continuing, he said news from Edmonton made him “cautious about the current state” about e-buses since an article said that city’s $60-million fleet was deemed “not roadworthy.” Specifically, half the buses did not work or perform to expected levels, while the city was suing the manufacturer.
Boyle added that council should proceed with caution since there was currently “no financial hook,” although Ottawa might impose such a requirement in the future.
Coun. Dawn Luhning expressed similar sentiments about Ottawa “forcing … regulations onto us” since she thought municipalities and provinces should make their own choices instead of the feds mandating things.
Start the ball rolling
Mayor James Murdock said it was likely that the city would qualify for the $38,120, while he pointed out that this report would “get the ball rolling.” Meanwhile, he stressed that the day would come when the city’s 30-foot diesel buses would be “completely out of circulation” and officials would be forced to purchase larger ones.
Ahead of the game
Coun. Heather Eby said council hired a grant writer to find external funding and that’s what the woman has done.
Meanwhile, she said it was great that administration was ahead of the game instead of “being behind the 8-ball,” as Ottawa could mandate e-buses next year and council would not know what upgrades are required at the bus barn.
“To cut off our nose to spite our face for $18,000 and turn away the rest of the funding for a report we need, I’m not an EV person, but the world is turning that way and we should do something,” Eby added. “We should not throw out the baby with the bathwater.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 26.
