Will battery electric buses work in the northern-most large city in North America? This week on Transit Unplugged, we continue our series from the CUTA conference in Edmonton, AB. Edmonton has been leading the way in transit for 20 years. The first city in Canada to have LRT and now the first city to have a hydrogen fuel cell bus in active service. So what's next?

Deputy City Manager--and former head of the Edmonton Transit System--Eddie Robar talks about plans to make oil-rich Alberta the hydrogen capital of Canada. Then we get a tour of Canada's largest electric bus garage with current head of Edmonton Transit (https://www.edmonton.ca/edmonton-transit-system-ets), Carrie Hotton-MacDonald. Carrie takes Paul for a tour of the Kathleen Andrews bus garage with modern amenities for drivers and advanced charging for their battery electric fleet.

And if you liked this audio tour, you'll love Transit Unplugged TV this month featuring Edmonton! The episode premiers December 14.

Coming up next week, we have a special chat with Arthur Nicolet CEO of Transdev Canada to talk about contracting in Canada and what the biggest trends in transit are.

Speaking of transit trends, our final episode of the year airs December 27th featuring Paul Skoutelas, CEO of APTA and Petra Mollet VP of Strategy and International Programs at APTA looking back at transit in 2023 and ahead to what will shape transit in 2024.

We'll have a special bonus holiday episode we think you'll really enjoy from another transit podcast. Stay tuned for that!

Questions? Email: [email protected]

0:00 Is the great hydrogen pivot coming to transit in 2024?

00:00 Introduction to Edmonton's Transit Innovations

01:39 Edmonton's Transition to Alternate Fuels

02:38 Edmonton's Electrification Journey

05:24 Inside Edmonton's Hydrogen Powered Buses

09:11 Career Pathways in Public Transportation

11:33 ThinkTransit Registration is open!

13:05 Interview with Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, Head of Edmonton Transit

13:16 In the Kathleen Andrews Bus Garage

14:32 Dispatch area

14:56 Operator Lounge

15:24 In the garage--charging infrastructure

16:13 How buses are charged

17:28 Inside an electric bus

19:12 Dealing with the cold and scale of the garage

23:15 Edmonton's New LRT Line and Future Plans

25:18 Outside the bus garage