WINNIPEG, July 29, 2019 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer
Industries Canada ULC ("New Flyer"), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc.
("NFI"), one of the world's largest independent global bus
manufacturers, announced the Canadian Urban Transit Research and
Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) and Brampton Transit have jointly
secured $11.15 million in federal
funding from Natural Resources Canada ("NRCan") to support the
adoption of zero-emission transit buses. The NRCan funding furthers
the government's commitment to renewable transit options and
supports the purchase of eight electric buses for Brampton – six of which are New Flyers
Xcelsior model.
![New Flyer Industries Inc. (CNW Group/New Flyer Industries Inc.) New Flyer Industries Inc. (CNW Group/New Flyer Industries Inc.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/953545/New_Flyer_Industries_Inc__New_Flyer_to_supply_six_battery_electr.jpg)
The announcement, taking place at Brampton Transit's Sandalwood
Facility, was made today by Minister of Environment and Climate
Change, The Honourable Catherine McKenna, CUTRIC Executive Director
and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Josipa
Petrunic, and Brampton
Mayor Patrick Brown. Today's
announcement now confirms all participants of CUTRIC's Pan-Canadian
Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial have been funded.
Other participants include York Region Transit and Translink.
As the Canadian leader in zero-emission bus ("ZEB") technology,
New Flyer has been advancing innovation since its first ZEB
delivery to the Toronto Transit Commission ("TTC") in 1968. Since
then, it has delivered over 540 ZEBs across Canada. It continues to drive nationwide
innovation and has supported CUTRIC's technical planning and design
efforts with in-kind engineering contributions to the project's
innovation portion, requiring more two years' worth of effort. New
Flyer also supported CUTRIC in advocacy to secure clean energy
project funding for Brampton Transit following cancellation of
prior funding from Ontario's
provincial government.
The NRCan funding also supports the purchase of four
high-powered, OppCharge-compliant overhead charging systems – three
from ABB and one from Siemens. With funding secured, Brampton
Transit will resume participation in CUTRIC's multi-manufacturer
interoperability demonstration, part of its Pan-Canadian Trial and
the first of its kind in the world testing interoperability of
electric transit vehicles.
"Public transit is moving toward clean, sustainable,
zero-emission mobility in the best interests of community air
quality and climate change mitigation," said Jennifer McNeill, New Flyer's Vice President of
Sales and Marketing. "Clean transit options require collaboration
from all stakeholders, and CUTRIC has been its driving force.
Together, and alongside our battery-electric buses Toronto, Montreal, and Laval, we are driving sustainable transit
innovation in Canada.
Congratulations to CUTRIC and Brampton Transit on this exceptional
step forward."
"The Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration
Trial is a unique partnership model involving multiple levels of
government, bus manufacturers, system integrators and funding
partners collaborating in an unprecedented way on breakthrough
technology to improve the environment," said Alex Milojevic, General Manager of Brampton
Transit. "We are proud to be the lead transit agency in the
planning and execution of this trial in partnership with CUTRIC.
This project positions the City of
Brampton to establish the largest single global deployment
of standardized and fully interoperable battery electric buses and
high-powered overhead on-route charging systems."
"Innovation does not just happen – it takes championship and
leadership," said Dr. Josipa
Petrunic, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of
CUTRIC. "New Flyer, along with all other partners in this
project, have demonstrated willingness to collaborate and work
together in the interests of cities and the country to advance
low-carbon transit mobility for all Canadians."
Brampton Transit has become one of Canada's fastest-growing and most innovative
transit providers, moving more than 31 million passengers in 2018
and committing to the reduction of Brampton's carbon footprint and greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions through sustainable transit. Brampton Transit
currently operates 422 buses, of which 110 are New Flyer electric
hybrid buses that reduce GHG emissions by approximately 3,500
tonnes per year.
CUTRIC was founded in 2014 with a vision to make Canada a global leader in zero- and
low-emissions transportation technologies, including advanced and
integrated mobility technologies. It supports research and
development through industry-academic collaborations that bring
innovation, design, and manufacturing to Canada's transportation supply chain;
ultimately reducing fuel consumption and building a blueprint for
Canadian Smart Mobility development. New Flyer has been a member of
CUTRIC since inception. Learn more at cutric-crituc.org.
NFI has over 50 years of experience in manufacturing
zero-emission buses (ZEBs), with more electric buses on the road in
North America than any other
manufacturer. In 2018, New Flyer became the first bus manufacturer
in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for
Livable Cities, joined the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN)
to support industry charging standards for all electric vehicles,
and became the first licensee outside the Volvo Group to join
OppCharge in North America.
About NFI
With over 8,900 team members operating from more than 50
facilities across ten countries, NFI is a leading independent
global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass
transportation solutions under brands: New Flyer®
(heavy-duty transit buses), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and
double-deck buses), Paxton (motor coaches), MCI® (motor
coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty
buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI buses and motor coaches incorporate the
widest range of drive systems available including: clean diesel,
natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, and zero-emission electric
(trolley, battery, and fuel cell). In total, NFI now supports
over 105,000 buses and coaches currently in service around the
world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange
under the symbol NFI. News and information are available at
www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com,
www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.
About New Flyer
New Flyer is North America's
heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product
line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. It
also offers infrastructure development through New Flyer
Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe,
sustainable, and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New
Flyer actively supports over 41,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New
Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 7,300 are
powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,600 are
zero-emission. Further information is available at
www.newflyer.com.
SOURCE New Flyer Industries Inc.