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District electric‑bus rollout delayed after manufacturer charge‑port placement error; 12 buses on site
Summary
Highland/Hyland team reported delivery of 12 Type C electric buses and 12 chargers but said a charge‑port installation error on the buses will require dealer retrofits and push the planned October launch into November; two lease assignment agreements will appear on next week's agenda.
District and Highland (Hyland) staff told the Committee of the Whole that all 12 electric Type C buses for the first phase have been delivered to the depot and chargers are installed, but a charge‑port placement error on the delivered buses will require the dealer to engineer a retrofit and will delay the planned October activation into November.
Zoe Mahmood, Hyland’s customer success manager, said the depot has 12 Type C buses (International chassis reported in the briefing) and 12 Telus chargers rated at 30 kW. All buses had been delivered to the site “to make sure that they arrive before September 30” and to preserve tax‑credit eligibility; the chargers are in the ground and the depot construction phase is complete.
Mahmood said Hyland discovered the buses’ charging‑port locations were “in the wrong place” and that the dealer, Wolfington, would need to reengineer the ports. “Unfortunately, we did run into a hiccup… the buses have their charge port locations in the wrong place,” she said. Hyland had tentatively scheduled operator and technician training for mid‑October but indicated that training would likely be shifted to align with the retrofit timeline. Hyland estimated a new go‑live in November.
Board members asked technical and operational questions, including winter range expectations and route planning. Hyland staff explained that battery range drops in cold weather and that the district’s winter route planning will account for reduced range by assigning routes with sufficient margins and scheduling re‑charging between runs. Hyland said typical winter range reductions vary by climate and use case; in colder climates operators have seen reductions that can be substantial, so the district must be strategic with route assignments and mid‑run charging.
Attorney Wachter told the committee there are two agreements related to the buses on next week’s board agenda: assignments of leases to the ultimate funder, a standard step when projects move to active service under a lease‑to‑finance model.
Why it matters: the electric‑bus deployment is a high‑visibility operational and financial project that affects transportation operations, maintenance planning, and contract deliverables. The manufacturer retrofit delays the operational start and shifts training and launch schedules, and the board will be asked to approve lease assignments tied to the project.
