New Flyer to supply six battery-electric Xcelsior buses to Brampton Transit as part of CUTRIC supported zero-emission bus program

WINNIPEG, July 29, 2019 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer Industries Canada ULC ("New Flyer"), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"), one of the world's largest independent global bus manufacturers, announced the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) and Brampton Transit have jointly secured $11.15 million in federal funding from Natural Resources Canada ("NRCan") to support the adoption of zero-emission transit buses. The NRCan funding furthers the government's commitment to renewable transit options and supports the purchase of eight electric buses for Brampton – six of which are New Flyers Xcelsior model.

The announcement, taking place at Brampton Transit's Sandalwood Facility, was made today by Minister of Environment and Climate Change, The Honourable Catherine McKenna, CUTRIC Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Josipa Petrunic, and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown. Today's announcement now confirms all participants of CUTRIC's Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial have been funded. Other participants include York Region Transit and Translink.

As the Canadian leader in zero-emission bus ("ZEB") technology, New Flyer has been advancing innovation since its first ZEB delivery to the Toronto Transit Commission ("TTC") in 1968. Since then, it has delivered over 540 ZEBs across Canada. It continues to drive nationwide innovation and has supported CUTRIC's technical planning and design efforts with in-kind engineering contributions to the project's innovation portion, requiring more two years' worth of effort. New Flyer also supported CUTRIC in advocacy to secure clean energy project funding for Brampton Transit following cancellation of prior funding from Ontario's provincial government.

The NRCan funding also supports the purchase of four high-powered, OppCharge-compliant overhead charging systems – three from ABB and one from Siemens. With funding secured, Brampton Transit will resume participation in CUTRIC's multi-manufacturer interoperability demonstration, part of its Pan-Canadian Trial and the first of its kind in the world testing interoperability of electric transit vehicles.

"Public transit is moving toward clean, sustainable, zero-emission mobility in the best interests of community air quality and climate change mitigation," said Jennifer McNeill, New Flyer's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Clean transit options require collaboration from all stakeholders, and CUTRIC has been its driving force. Together, and alongside our battery-electric buses Toronto, Montreal, and Laval, we are driving sustainable transit innovation in Canada. Congratulations to CUTRIC and Brampton Transit on this exceptional step forward."

"The Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial is a unique partnership model involving multiple levels of government, bus manufacturers, system integrators and funding partners collaborating in an unprecedented way on breakthrough technology to improve the environment," said Alex Milojevic, General Manager of Brampton Transit. "We are proud to be the lead transit agency in the planning and execution of this trial in partnership with CUTRIC. This project positions the City of Brampton to establish the largest single global deployment of standardized and fully interoperable battery electric buses and high-powered overhead on-route charging systems."

"Innovation does not just happen – it takes championship and leadership," said Dr. Josipa Petrunic, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of CUTRIC. "New Flyer, along with all other partners in this project, have demonstrated willingness to collaborate and work together in the interests of cities and the country to advance low-carbon transit mobility for all Canadians."

Brampton Transit has become one of Canada's fastest-growing and most innovative transit providers, moving more than 31 million passengers in 2018 and committing to the reduction of Brampton's carbon footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through sustainable transit. Brampton Transit currently operates 422 buses, of which 110 are New Flyer electric hybrid buses that reduce GHG emissions by approximately 3,500 tonnes per year. 

CUTRIC was founded in 2014 with a vision to make Canada a global leader in zero- and low-emissions transportation technologies, including advanced and integrated mobility technologies. It supports research and development through industry-academic collaborations that bring innovation, design, and manufacturing to Canada's transportation supply chain; ultimately reducing fuel consumption and building a blueprint for Canadian Smart Mobility development. New Flyer has been a member of CUTRIC since inception. Learn more at cutric-crituc.org.

NFI has over 50 years of experience in manufacturing zero-emission buses (ZEBs), with more electric buses on the road in North America than any other manufacturer. In 2018, New Flyer became the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, joined the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) to support industry charging standards for all electric vehicles, and became the first licensee outside the Volvo Group to join OppCharge in North America.

About NFI

With over 8,900 team members operating from more than 50 facilities across ten countries, NFI is a leading independent global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions under brands: New Flyer^® (heavy-duty transit buses), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Paxton (motor coaches), MCI^® (motor coaches), ARBOC^® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI buses and motor coaches incorporate the widest range of drive systems available including: clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, and zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell).  In total, NFI now supports over 105,000 buses and coaches currently in service around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information are available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.

About New Flyer

New Flyer is North America's heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product line under the Xcelsior^® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. It also offers infrastructure development through New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe, sustainable, and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New Flyer actively supports over 41,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 7,300 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,600 are zero-emission. Further information is available at www.newflyer.com.

SOURCE New Flyer Industries Inc.

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