The largest private bus fleet in Vancouver, Canada has committed to converting its fleet to fully electric by 2023 and is making the move with BYD as the preferred provider for the transition.
WESTCOAST Sightseeing has a diverse fleet of 90 open top, double decker, single, and other buses, and along with placing an order for BYD buses, has committed to converting all 90 of its vehicles to electric offerings by 2023. The commitment includes converting all of its harbor tour boats to fully electric, which it has already done under its Electric Harbour Tours branch.
“Our business is built around the natural beauty of our home and we are especially conscious of the impact our day-to-day operations has on the environment,” said Rob Safrata, Chief Executive Officer of WESTCOAST Sightseeing. “We are proudly working towards a greener and more sustainable future. And adding electric buses and boats is the first step to achieve our goal in 2023 of becoming the first Sightseeing firm in Canada with 100% electric vehicles.”
As part of its push into electrified buses, WESTCOAST Sightseeing will also work with the City of Vancouver to develop charging infrastructure that will not only allow its buses to charge, but will allow other companies looking to implement electric buses to charge up.
“CEO Rob Safrata has long held a clean energy vision and we are excited to be working with him,” said BYD Canada’s Vice President Ted Dowling. “This aligns perfectly with the recent announcement by British Columbia Premier John Horgan for the need to find other ways to reduce emissions.”
Moving tourists around on large buses instead of having them roam around the country in numerous rental cars cuts emissions and magnifies the positive emissions effect of converting a single bus. Adding to that, most large tour buses run on diesel, which emits some of the worst emissions in transportation so replacing even one of those with an electric bus is a win. Converting an entire fleet will have a noticeable impact on the air quality and the noise levels in Vancouver and surrounding areas.
BYD continues to lead the charge into electric buses in Canada and has already sold or leased more than 600 buses to more than 50 municipal, transit agency, university, airport, federal and other commercial and private sector clients in 14 US states, and across 4 provinces in Canada.
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