TransLink trolley buses see nearly $27 million in funding from city, province
Posted December 13, 2023 7:30 pm.
TransLink, the province, and the City of Vancouver are spending almost $27 million to extend the life of the region’s trolley bus service by up to 60 years.
A release from the B.C. government explains the funding will maintain the infrastructure that allows buses to run on overhead wires instead of using fossil fuels.
Metro Vancouver has been using trolley buses for more than seven decades, and officials say the technology removes about 18,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year that would be generated by diesel vehicles.
B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming says this funding offers those in Metro Vancouver the opportunity to take environmentally friendly transit “for generations to come.”
“People in Metro Vancouver have enjoyed access to zero-emission trolley buses for decades. Since Trolley buses made their debut, we have seen our communities grow and with that our need for transit infrastructure that’s affordable, efficient, and green,” he said.
City of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim adds that he’s excited to see trolley bus service continue.
“The trolley network is an important component of a healthy, connected city and this funding will help ensure residents and visitors can continue to move about Vancouver in a reliable, safe, and sustainable way well into the future,” he said.
The funding will support the replacement of up to 600 steel trolley poles, about 60 kilometres of running wire, and six-thousand metres of underground cable.
