Oakville is electrifying half its bus fleet. What happens to the other half?

What's happening

Oakville Transit is partway through a funded program to run about half of its buses on electricity. The money and the targets are set and public; what is less clear, from the Town's own sources, is what will power the rest of the fleet once this program is finished. The plan traces back to a 2020 funding commitment and was most recently restated by the Town in January 2025 — so this is a years-long transition, not a decision made this week.

What's funded and confirmed

Three governments committed a combined investment of roughly $66 million to electrify about half of Oakville Transit's fleet, through the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) and its Public Transit Infrastructure Stream. In the 2020 federal announcement, the Government of Canada put in over $26.5 million, the Government of Ontario over $22.1 million, and the Town of Oakville over $17.6 million. The Town's January 2025 update gives the total as $66.7 million and describes it as electrifying approximately half the fleet.

What's already been delivered

Oakville Transit introduced its first 15 smaller-capacity electric buses in 2023. On January 31, 2025, the Town announced 15 more — large-capacity Nova LFSE+ 40-foot buses — entering service, which it said would replace some of the diesel buses on conventional fixed routes. The Town has said the new large buses can travel up to 350 kilometres on a charge, against roughly 225 kilometres needed on most routes in a day.

What's planned through 2026

Beyond the buses already in service, the Town's January 2025 statement said 12 more small-capacity and 32 more large-capacity electric buses would be added over the following two years, bringing the total purchased to 74 by 2026 — about half the fleet. That delivery is what the published OakvilleIQ year-in-review noted when it counted 15 new electric buses among the Town's 2025 work.

The open question: the other half

This program funds about 50 per cent of the fleet. What propulsion the remaining roughly half will use — more electric buses, or something else — is not established in the Town's accessible public sources. OakvilleIQ reviewed Town news releases, Council and Budget Committee minutes, and the federal funding announcement, and did not find an official Town document that confirms either further electric-bus funding or a switch back to diesel for future replacements. In other words, the funded plan stops at about half, and the published record does not yet say what comes after it.

What we know, and what we don't

• What we know: roughly $66 million is committed through ICIP to electrify about half the fleet, with federal, provincial and municipal shares.
• What we know: up to 74 electric buses are to be in service by the end of 2026, replacing some existing diesel buses.
• What we don't know yet: what powers the remaining roughly 50 per cent of the fleet after this program is complete.
• What we don't know yet: whether additional funding for more electric buses has been secured, and whether the Town has made any official decision on diesel versus electric for future replacements.

What happens next

The current program runs to the end of 2026. Decisions about the rest of the fleet would normally be made through the Town's future budgets and capital plans — the same process that sets transit service and fares. OakvilleIQ will update this explainer if an official Town, regional or government source establishes what the fleet will run on after the funded program is complete.