Monday, July 7, 2025
The City of Brampton announced a $4-billion partnership with UK-based Zenobē to fully electrify Brampton Transit’s bus fleet — the largest zero-emission transit initiative in Canada.
“This historic investment marks a turning point for Brampton and for public transit across Canada. By transitioning to a fully electric bus fleet, we’re not only reducing emissions — we’re creating jobs, improving air quality, and building a cleaner, healthier future for our residents. Brampton is proud to lead one of North America’s largest zero-emission transit projects, and we are grateful to our partners in the U.K. and Canada for helping make this bold vision a reality,” said Brampton Mayor, Patrick Brown.
The agreement will launch the first phase of a 10-year electrification framework that will ultimately see Brampton’s entire diesel-powered bus fleet replaced with up to 1,000 battery electric buses (BEBs), supporting more than 40 million annual passenger trips. Once complete, the program is expected to eliminate the majority of transit-related greenhouse gas emissions — which currently account for approximately 70% of the City’s corporate GHG emissions.
“We bring considerable experience working with local and federal public sector partners to enable and accelerate their transition to electric fleets. Our customized match-funding options, combined with the experience from delivering over 120 electric depots globally, lowers costs and de-risks the inevitable path to zero-emission fleets. We are delighted to grow our presence in Canada, and with Brampton, as we jointly achieve their financial and ecological objectives. We expect this will serve as a model for other projects currently under development,” said Steven Meersman, co-founder and director, Zenobē.
The announcement builds on the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) investment of up to $400 million to support Brampton Transit’s purchase of up to 450 zero-emission buses (ZEBs) by 2027. The CIB’s financing contributes towards the upfront capital cost of the ZEBs, and more specifically battery electric buses, to help accelerate the electrification of the City’s bus fleet.
“With one of the largest zero-emission bus programs in North America, Brampton is setting a new standard for sustainable, modern public transit. Beyond reducing emissions and improving air quality for our residents, this partnership will also drive local economic growth, creating thousands of jobs and building expertise right here in Brampton. We’re proud to work alongside Zenobē and all partners as we deliver on Council’s vision for a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient future for one of Canada’s fastest-growing communities,” said Heidi Dempster, General Manager, Transit, City of Brampton.
Featured image: (Left to Right: Zenobē Global Direcor of EV Fleet Tim Boothman; Zenobē Co-Founder and Director Steven Meersman; The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer; Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, Hon. Fouzia Younis, U.K.’s Consul-General to Ontario)
