The Réseau de transport de la Capitale has unveiled its first operations center which will be dedicated to its 100% electric buses, namely the Newton center in the Frontenac industrial park, which formerly housed a warehouse for the Simons store.
The announcement took place on Tuesday morning in the new premises of the RTC on Avenue Galilée. For the occasion, the MNA for Vanier–Les Rivières, Mario Asselin, announced a grant of more than $53 million for the acquisition of the building, the completion of the initial preparatory work and the continuation of the development of the file business.
The site will become the third operating center of the RTC. It will be a strategic component of the region's public transit network, since it will provide the RTC with maintenance space for its electric buses, whose fleet will experience significant growth in the coming years.
“This is largely attributable to the fact that the government has taken vigorous action to electrify the public transport sector as part of its plan for a green economy 2030”, indicates the MP.
The plan aims in particular for 55% of city buses to be electric by 2030. The RTC intends to adhere to it, since in 2025 all new vehicles acquired by public transport companies will have to be electric to benefit from government subsidies.
“I can tell you that, in the meantime, the RTC is putting everything in place to strategically deploy electrification, because it is a major organizational transformation,” says Maude Mercier Larouche, president of the RTC.
A pilot project this fall
In particular, the RTC will set up a pilot project this fall.
“We are going to accommodate three rental buses to become familiar with everything related to electrification and that will allow us to carry out tests [like charging and battery tests]. It is very important to make sure that you know this technology well, because we will ultimately be called upon to drive 100% electric, ”continues Ms. Mercier Larouche.
The RTC is developing transformation plans for the new operational center, the work of which promises to be major. This work should begin in the fall.
The Newton center will increase the storage capacity of the RTC over the next few years and the gradual commissioning of the center is planned from 2026.
