Toronto now has over 100 electric buses in service

The city of Toronto in Canada has announced a new milestone for the electrification of its public transport fleet. More than 100 battery-electric buses are now in service throughout the city, with hundreds more on the way by mid-next year.

The city currently has 340 e-buses under procurement which are set for delivery by Q2 of 2026, which the city claims will bring its total fleet of electric buses up to 400 by mid-next year – making it the largest electric bus fleet in North America. This has been jointly funded by both the federal government and the Toronto city authorities to the tune of around $700m CAD, along with chargers.

The full makeup of brands in the Toronto e-bus fleet still isn’t clear, but its initial fleet of 60 buses were split equally between BYD, New Flyer and Proterra. We do know that at least 186 of the new e-buses are from New Flyer.

The battery-electric fleet operates alongside a hybrid-electric bus fleet which makes up 30 percent of the whole bus fleet These operate in ‘Green Zones’ where the diesel generator is turned off completely so that they run as zero-emission. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) says it aims to have an emission-free fleet by 2040.

TTC Chair Jamaal Myers said: “Our goal is to run a transit system that customers can be proud of, and zero-emission vehicles are the future of sustainable transit. The TTC continues to increase its fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles and make significant strides towards a zero-emissions future. I want to thank the Government of Canada and the City of Toronto for their partnership and support.”

ttc.ca