Edmonton started taking delivery of their second order of Proterra ZX5 electric
buses in May 2022, with the first buses entering service in June 2022. The
original procurement envisioned 40 buses, with a further 10 to come
tied to funding for the Terwilligar Drive project which would see busways built
and a BRT-type operation using those electric buses. Provincial funding was lost
in late 2019 for the Terwilligar project, and while the City has been able to
continue funding the majority of the project, presumably the electric buses
would have been a casualty. Fortunately, the Canada Infrastructure Bank had an
additional $2.75 billion committed to it by the Government of Canada in March
2021 to help transportation providers purchase electric vehicles. Edmonton
received $14.4 million to "top up" diesel bus purchases from this funding,
allowing the purchase of the 20 Proterra's. Presently 60 buses is what the
installed electrical capacity at Kathleen Andrews and Centennial Garages can
support. Any additional electric buses would required additional electrical
upgrades.
These buses are nearly identical to the previous batches, including featuring
USB plugs in certain locations for passenger use, but do prominently feature
white LED Luminator destination signs, a first for ETS. The exterior cameras are
also a slightly different shape, and the seating at the rear has been reconfigured
to match the New Flyer XD's. So far, all buses are operating out of Kathleen Andrews
Garage. The buses were delivered to Big Rig Collision in Calgary for painting into the
ETS livery.
| Thumbnail | Bus # | Date | Description |
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8040 | July 2022 | ETS #8040 running NB on 101 Street at Jasper Avenue as a route 9 Downtown. |
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8041 | July 2022 | ETS #8041 turning onto 107 Street SB from Jasper Avenue WB as a route 130x Government Centre. |
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8042 | July 2022 | ETS #8042 running SB on 109 Street at 105 Avenue as a route 8 University. |
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8042 | July 4, 2022 | ETS #8042 at Northgate as a route 54 West Edmonton Mall. |
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8042 | July 4, 2022 | ETS #8042 at Northgate as a route 54 West Edmonton Mall. |
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8042 | July 4, 2022 | ETS #8042 at Northgate as a route 54 West Edmonton Mall. |
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8043 | August 2022 | ETS #8043 arriving at West Edmonton Mall as a route 54 Clareview. |
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8044 | July 4, 2022 | ETS #8042 at Northgate as a route 54 West Edmonton Mall. |
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8044 | July 2022 | ETS #8044 at Government Centre as a route 120x Eaux Claires. |
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8045 | August 2022 | ETS #8045 at Clareview West as a route 117 Eaux Claires. |
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8046 | July 2022 | ETS #8046 northbound on 97 St crossing 104 Ave as a 150x Dunluce. |
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8046 | July 2022 | ETS #8046 on layover at MacDonald Drive WB between 101 and 102 Street as a route 1B Capilano. |
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8047 | August 2022 | ETS #8047 arriving at Westmount as a route 3 Stadium. |
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8047 | August 2022 | ETS #8047 at Westmount as a route 3 Stadium. |
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8048 | July 2022 | ETS #8048 turning north onto 97 St from 104 Ave as a 120x. |
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8048 | July 2022 | The other side of ETS #8048 as pictured above. Needless to say, this combination required two photographers. |
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8048 | August 2022 | ETS #8048 not in service arriving at Millgate Transit Centre. This terminal was finally closed in September 2022. Spottings like this were extremely rare due to the limited time frame between service entry and the terminal closure, plus the buses running out of Kathleen Andrews Garage in the NE meant that very few schedule blocks that could receive 2022 Proterras actually served this terminal. To the best of my knowledge, based on the open GTFS data feed this happened less than five times in total. |
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8048 | August 2022 | ETS #8048 departing Millgate as a route 505 Pylypow. Note that a significant portion of the terminal is closed off due to severe deterioration of the bus driveway. |
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8048 | August 2022 | ETS #8048 departing Millgate as a route 505 Pylypow. |
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8048 | September 2022 | The interior rear of ETS #8048, showing the XD-style seating arrangement. |
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8049 | August 2022 | ETS #8049 running SB on 101 Street at Jasper Avenue as a route 1B. |
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8050 | August 2022 | ETS #8050 arriving at Belvedere as a route 107. |
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8051 | August 2022 | ETS #8051 running WB on 102 Avenue at 124 Street as a route 2 West Edmonton Mall. |
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8052 | August 2022 | ETS #8052 turning onto 108 Street SB from Kingsway Avenue EB as a route 903 Kingsway RAH. |
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8053 | August 2022 | ETS #8053 running SB on 101 Street at 112 Avenue as a route 9 Downtown. |
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8054 | September 2022 | ETS #8054 running EB on 104 Avenue at 112 Street as a route 7 Downtown. |
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8055 | September 2022 | ETS #8055 at Northgate as a route 52 West Edmonton Mall. |
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8056 | September 2022 | ETS #8056 running EB on Jasper Avenue at 109 Street as a route 5 Downtown. |
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8057 | September 2022 | ETS #8057 about to depart from the temporary WEM transit centre. |
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8057 | September 2022 | ETS #8057 turning onto 109 Street NB from 104 Avenue WB as a route 110x Eaux Claires. |
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8058 | September 2022 | ETS #8058 turning onto Jasper Avenue EB from 109 Street SB as a route 8 University. |
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8058 | September 2022 | ETS #8058 eastbound on 111 Ave as a route 701, approaching 101 St. The bus will proceed a bit further east to 97 St where it will turn south. |
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8058 | November 2022 | The interior rear of ETS #8058. |
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8058 | November 2022 | The interior front of ETS #8058. |
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8059 | August 2022 | ETS #8059 departing Government Centre as a route 130x Baturyn via Eaux Claires on its first day in revenue service. |
This page last updated on October 7, 2022.