Three new electric buses will hit the road in Montreal next month, but they won’t be transporting any paying customers just yet.
As part of the Société de transport de Montréal’s pilot project called Cité Mobilité, the STM will be testing out the three electric-powered buses on the No. 36 Monk route throughout the winter.
Over the last few months, STM crews installed two rapid-charging pantographs to allow the buses to charge for about five minutes at their terminuses at Angrignon and Square-Victoria métro stations and give them enough power to make the 10-kilometre route. The pantographs are elevated charging stations that lower into place to the contact point on the roof of the bus. The STM also has slow-charging stations at its LaSalle garage, to allow the buses to reach a full charge when parked for the night.
If all goes well, the three buses will begin transporting passengers in the spring.
Correction: A previous version of this report erroneously stated that the electric buses would only be in use during off-peak hours, when in fact, the STM has not made a firm decision on when the buses will run. The Montreal Gazette regrets the error.
