The Regional District of Nanaimo will add 24 new compressed natural gas buses in the new year, says Daniel Pearce, manager of transit operations.
An original fleet of 25 natural gas buses came into service March 2014, with the district saying they are more efficient as they rely on natural gas. The new buses will replace the diesel ones currently in use.
Directors approved conventional and custom annual operating agreements for 2016-17 at their regular meeting Tuesday and according to Pearce, the new buses are expected to arrive in January. The regional district will lease the buses from B.C. Transit. Lease fees will increase to $1.8 million from $1.6 million.
“With our costs going forward with changing out all of our diesel buses to CNG … we’re anticipating greater savings in both fuel and maintenance as well,” said Pearce.
The buses will lead to a 21-per cent drop in fleet maintenance fees for 2016-17. Maintenance was approximately $1.6 million in 2015-16 and is projected to decrease to about $1.3 million this year.
Conventional agreements refer to regular bus service, while custom agreements refers to such services as HandyDart. Both deals run until March 31.
Bus fares will not increase in the coming year, Pearce said.
