Mississauga to be first in Ontario to get hydrogen fuel cell electric transit buses

Mississauga is poised to become the first municipality in Ontario to put hydrogen fuel cell electric buses into service as part of its public transit fleet.

City council is expected to put a final stamp of approval next Wednesday on a plan that will see the City of Mississauga buy 10 40-foot hydrogen fuel cell electric buses at a cost of $20 million.

MiWay, the city’s public transit provider, would welcome the new buses into its sizable fleet (which currently numbers about 500 vehicles) sometime in early 2026 if council gives the green light to the pilot program.

City officials said in a news release issued Wednesday that Mississauga would be Ontario’s first municipality to pilot such buses within its transit fleet.

MiWay’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Bus project, if approved, will move the city towards more sustainable public transit, officials added. Hydrogen is a cleaner fuel option that offers a better alternative to diesel, the city said.

Example of a hydrogen fuel cell electric bus. (Photo: City of Mississauga)

“If we’re going to be smart about climate change, we need to start looking into alternatives to diesel for our growing transit fleet and start investing in cleaner fuels and technologies,” said Mayor Carolyn Parrish. “This $20 million investment will advance our understanding of hydrogen fuel and what it means for sustainable transportation options in the future. We’re committed to looking for innovative and low-emission solutions to reach our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Mississauga by 40 per cent by 2030.”

Eve Wiggins, the city’s director of transit, said MiWay is taking “big steps” towards transitioning to a zero-emission transit system with major investments in its fleet.

“Since 2019, MiWay has been working to replace its diesel buses and bring in lower-emission vehicles in addition to now piloting and investing in new vehicle technologies like hydrogen fuel cell electric buses,” said Wiggins.

City officials said efforts to enhance the MiWay fleet are backed by the federal government’s Zero Emission Transit Fund, which granted Mississauga approval for funding in December 2022.

MiWay also wants to upgrade key transit facilities

Mississauga is expected to be reimbursed for as much as $10 million by the federal fund should the MiWay project be approved.

MiWay, Ontario’s third-largest municipal transit service, has also requested an extra $500,000 to upgrade some of its key facilities, including the Malton Transit and Central Parkway Body sites, to support the new hydrogen buses.

In July, the city began looking into options for the supply of hydrogen fuel it would need to keep the new buses moving.

If the plan moves forward, Mississauga would buy the new vehicles from New Flyer Industries in Winnipeg, the only manufacturer in Canada that produces hydrogen fuel cell electric buses.

Currently, nearly 60 per cent of MiWay’s buses are hybrid-electric. Those buses have resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in diesel fuel consumption per year and 5,134,000 kilograms (5,134 tonnes) of avoided GHG emissions per year, the city said.

(Cover photo of existing bus in MiWay fleet: MiWay X)