Business View Magazine - Dec 2023

which are primarily used for its specialized and on-demand type services. And it is planning to purchase an additional 15 conventional, 40-foot electric vehicles by the end of next year. The switch from fossil fuels to electricity, while welcome, is a challenging one, as the agency now has to figure out how the new battery-electric vehicles are going to be powered. “This became a learning opportunity for us,” Kawun recounts, “because when you think about the number of buses that you’re purchasing as part of your fleet, you also have to start understanding the capacity of the building and the infrastructure required to electrify these vehicles.” “Oakville Transit and the town of Oakville had to assess our garage facility to understand what the existing capacity to provide electricity to these buses was, and what we might have to upgrade in terms of the electricity coming into the site to power these vehicles, or recharge them when coming in from service on any given day.” One thing learned was that the amount of electricity coming into the bus garage needed to be increased; all electrical feeds would have to be upsized. “But we’re transit operators and not electricians,” Kawun offers. “So, we partnered with PowerON Energy Solutions. They are the ones who are helping us design our facility and they will be the ones building out the facility and electrifying it. Partnerships are key when you come to these types of massive capital projects; no one alone can implement thembecause there are so many variables in understanding what you’re going from – in our case, a diesel and gas propulsion system in our fleet, to, now, a mix of diesel, gas, and electricity, and eventually the plan is to go 100% electric.” “There is a huge transition period that is required; you’re going to have to operate both systems at the same time. We’re pretty proficient with diesel, but we have to learn how to do it with electricity. So, partnerships are key; they help you understand what to look out for, what’s in the market, what is the best way forward, and any efficiencies that can We like to make sure that we are providing enough service for the demand of customers and having this ACE (Automatic Counting Equipment) system identifies where we are. If we see crowding issues, we can help customers have a more comfortable ride by inserting more service at those locations.” COMFORT AND SECURITY That attention to customer comfort extends to how riders can pay their fares. “We have an electric tap-on/tap-off fare system,” Kawun notes. “It’s used by many of the transit agencies in the GTHA, so there is seamless integration and transferring done with the card. We also have implemented debit/credit open payment. So, anyone coming into the system who may not have a card, or maybe visiting Oakville, can just take out their credit card and tap on to take a trip with our system. That is very attractive to the customers, and we’ve seen a large uptake in terms of transit about the electronic fare payment and open payment system.” “Last year we installed Wi-Fi on our buses, so customers traveling on the system could continue doing their work, or connect with family or friends while on their journey. We also have onboard video cameras that collect voice and video – that is primarily for the safety of our customers and our operators. Those systems come in quite handy when there is an accident or if a customer would like to recall an incident on the vehicle. So, we have quite an abundant ITS infrastructure that helps us operate the system, but also provides customer convenience while using, and trying to understand how to use our system.” GOING ELECTRIC Like many municipal transit systems across the U.S. and Canada, Oakville Transit is cognizant of the danger to public health caused by the emissions from its diesel and gas-powered buses. So, it is beginning to make the transition to electric transportation. With the help of funding from the federal and provincial governments, and the support of the Oakville town council, it recently purchased 15 small battery electric buses, 311 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 12 OAKVI LLE TRANSI T