TORONTO: The Toronto Transit Commission board this week authorized the procurement of 300 e-buses to bolster its surface transit network and move the TTC forward on its goal of a zero-emissions fleet by 2040.
Today, Toronto is home to North America’s largest fleet of electric buses – and it’s growing!
Toronto’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy, approved by City Council on January 29, 2020, identifies actions that need to be taken so the City of Toronto is prepared for the global shift towards electric mobility and to ensure Toronto achieves a key TransformTO goal: 100% of transportation uses zero-carbon energy sources by 2050.
Read the EV Strategy Staff Report for more information. It is estimated that vehicles are the source of over one-third of Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).v and the city’s EV Strategy focuses on personal passenger vehicle electrification which includes both plug-in hybrid electric and full battery electric vehicles and which represent around 30 per cent of GHG emissions in Toronto.
The City is currently implementing a suite of actions to convert the City’s fleet and transit buses to use low-carbon technology, undertaking a goods and freight movement study, and an automated vehicles tactical plan, among other electric mobility initiatives, all of which complement and align with the recommendations in the EV Strategy.
A key initiative will be the implementation of Downtown On-Street Charging Pilot and the Residential On-street Charging Station Pilots in 2020. Refer to the Summary section in this Staff Report for more information.
The zero-carbon transition will be guided by a number of principles that advance social equity, protect low income residents, improve affordability, especially for vulnerable populations, contribute to poverty reduction, enhance and strengthen the local economy, maintain and create good local jobs, improve public health and create resilient communities and infrastructure.
Toronto’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, based on 1990 levels:
• 30 per cent by 2020
• 65 per cent by 2030
• Net zero by 2050, or sooner Achieving these targets will require us to move towards more sustainable modes of transportation.
• By 2050, 100 per cent of vehicles in Toronto will use zerocarbon energy; 75 per cent of trips under 5 km will be walked or cycled. The Electric Vehicle Strategy will serve as the roadmap to capture emissions reductions potential through the electrification of mobility