Correspondence from Kathryn Cass Re: 2401 Burnside Road W. - handyDART Site

From: Kathryn Cass Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2020 9:12 PM To: Tina_Sulea@bctransit.com Cc: Trotter@bctransit.com; Mayor And Council Email mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca Subject: View Royal Climate Coalition - HandyDART electrification

Dear Susan Brice and Victoria Regional Transit Commission,

Thank you for giving the View Royal Climate Coalition the opportunity to present our case for full electrification of the HandyDART bus fleet in time for the completion of the new facility in View Royal; and thank you for your quick response.

Of course, we are very disappointed that the Transit Commission is not giving serious consideration to climate change and the health of View Royal residents, HandyDART users, and HandyDART drivers.

In October 2018, the Health Officers Council of BC included the following as key items in their Call to Action on Climate and Health:

Meet and strengthen the commitments under the Paris Agreement
Transition away from the use of coal, oil and natural gas to clean, safe, and renewable energy.
Transition to zero-carbon transportation systems with an emphasis on active transportation. https://www.healthofficerscouncil.net/positions-and-advocacy/resolutions/

This position is supported by a recent letter from 22 Canadian health organizations calling for strong action to address our climate emergency. https://election.ctvnews.ca/most-critical-problem-we-re-facing-medical-groups-urge-climate-change-action-1.4632848

This speaks to the need for immediate replacement of internal combustion powered buses with zero emissions electric vehicles.

Health Canada reports that in 2015, on-road gasoline emissions were associated with 700 premature deaths in Canada, along with with acute respiratory symptom days, restricted activity days, asthma symptom days, hospital admissions, emergency room visits, child acute bronchitis episodes and adult chronic bronchitis cases. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/human-health-risk-assessment-gasoline-exhaust-summary.html

To this point, replacing existing buses with gasoline burning vehicles is not a solution.

Children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to vehicle exhaust, including children who attend school in high traffic areas. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920902/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5287434/

For this reason, the location of the new HandyDART facility near an elementary school makes it particularly important to avoid increasing vehicle exhaust exposure in the area.

Zero emissions electric vehicles that could replace the diesel buses currently used by HandyDART are available for purchase from various manufacturers, including Green Power https://www.greenpowerbus.com, Via Motors https://www.viamotors.com/, and Schetky https://www.schetkynw.com/electric-bus-tech/.

As for costs, benefits and overall business case, we suggest you consider the costs of ignoring the current climate emergency; along with the health benefits to passengers and drivers, students at Eagle View Elementary School, and View Royal residents. Acting decisively to fully replace the HandyDART fleet before completion of the new facility will also have the benefit of enhanced return on our investment through reduced operating costs. It should not be a matter of how much it will cost, but how soon we can accomplish what needs to be done.

We are far from the leaders in this transition and should leverage the work being done already by other municipalities. For example, Vancouver Translink staff have recommended that their Mayors' Council adopt an “aggressive” approach to electrification. They will be seeking up to $447 million over 10 years to purchase 635 buses and install charging infrastructure. They anticipate a savings in operating costs of $124 million over the same time period. To support the new battery electric bus fleet, TransLink will turn its planned Marpole Transit Centre into 100% electric charging ready when it opens in late 2023 or early 2024. https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/translink-low-carbon-fleet-strategy-electric-battery-buses

With all due respect to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, we expect better. As concerned citizens, we are prepared to assist you by working on a fully costed proposal for the replacement of the HandyDART fleet with 100% zero-emissions, battery electric vehicles based on existing commercial products.

Kathryn Cass for the View Royal Climate Coalition