A bright, airy warehouse now offers BC Transit the space to better repair and repaint its fleet of buses.
On Friday morning the new body and paint shop was unveiled at 520 Gorge Road E. after two years of demolition and reconstruction. The shop is part of a three-phase, $13.9 million endeavour announced in 2016 which also includes the new warehouse at the Langford facility and an ancillary administrative space. Each portion also received seismic upgrades.
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The new shop offers an enclosed painting garage which is large enough to accommodate a double decker bus, something that formerly had to be done in Langford.
Today @BCTransit announced the opening of Victoria’s new body and paint shop – now with the ability to drive in and paint double decker buses. Also has an on-site water treatment system to treat oily/contaminated water #yyj @VictoriaNews pic.twitter.com/kyCMWWJEnG
— Nicole Crescenzi (@NicoleCrescenzi) May 10, 2019
The space also offers upgraded repair stations, and an on-site waste-water treatment system that can process 15-litres of oily, contaminated water per minute. The system can separate contaminants from water and release clean water directly into local storm drains.
BC Transit anticipates that 1,200 buses will come through the shop in a year, with projections of more coming through as the fleet grows.
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“An effective and efficient operation requires accurately predicting and responding to demand,” said Erinn Pinkerton, BC Transit President and Chief Executive Officer. “This investment in facilities represents our response to projected growth and a commitment to public transit from our government partners at all levels.”
While the ribbon was cut today, final deliveries of tools and equipment are set to roll in over the next couple weeks before the body and paint shop is fully operational at the beginning of June.
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