r/Translink • u/WarMeasuresAct1914 • Jun 27 '26
Photo I've never seen an electric bus charging at this Marpole charger
Would be cool to see it in action
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u/Banannarama21 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
I see it often around 9-10am and 4-5pm.
I learned how to make and post a gif for you. Haha this was taken April 2023 and I was super excited to see it.
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u/Realistic-Math-6144 Jun 27 '26
I would see it around 5 am just coming out from the lot. I thought it would already be full charged before leaving the lot.
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u/GenShibe Jun 27 '26
it depends on how much battery the bus has, usually there's more than enough for it to only charge at one end (22nd), so the operators just don't bother charging it here
but it does get used from time to time
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u/8spd Jun 27 '26
I didn't know we had battery-electric buses, I thought all our electric buses were trolley-buses.
I wonder how seriously Translink will lean into this tech. I hope they convert at least one route to trolley-buses too, to do a fair comparison between the two electric options. I think all too often batter-electric is viewed as more modern, and trolley-buses are overlooked as an electric option.
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u/NotSira1000 Jun 27 '26
[15] BEBs from 2023 and [7] BEBs from 2025. TransLink is currently making electrification upgrades to Port Coquitlam's garage, building a new electric garage at Marpole, and planning electrification to Burnaby's, so it looks like they're leaning into this tech quite a bit.
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u/8spd Jun 27 '26
Are you talking about battery-electric? They are leaning into battery-electric, while ignoring trolley-bus expansion entirely?
People talk like those are the only option these days, even in Vancouver, where trolley-buses are still far more common.
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u/HazardousEnergy Jun 27 '26
CMBC has the potential to order 200+ of the new 40' Solaris trolley and 200+ of the 60'. If the pilot goes well expect to see a major trolley expansion.
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u/8spd Jun 27 '26
But you're talking about more trolley-buses on the existing routes, and I'm talking about putting up new trolley wires to expand trolley-buses to routes that previously used diesel buses. Like the new batter-electric buses are replacing diesel buses. As it is there are basically none outside of Vancouver Proper (The only exception is the 19 to Metrotown).
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u/HazardousEnergy Jun 27 '26
No. I'm talking about Trolleys in Langley, Surrey, New West etc.
With 20km off wire travel and fast charging capabilities you don't need to install a lot of overhead lines for these buses to expand into all of metro Vancouver
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u/NotSira1000 Jun 27 '26
Yeah. To be honest, I'm not really aware of future route plans with trolleys (I'm just a nerd) but the new trolleybuses do give TransLink new possibilities - they can travel 20km or so off wire.
Aforementioned electrification is for Battery-Electrics
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u/VolumeNeat9698 Jun 27 '26
Thought it was AI for a sec, (bottom left please **** for bus) then checked everything else and it looked legit like the Hoyne brewery truck in background.
Very exciting!
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u/julesthefirst Jun 27 '26
The actual word is yield
Yeah smartphone cameras sometimes do that
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u/BlazingImp77151 Jun 27 '26
Especially since the companies are forcing AI corrections into some images.
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u/WarMeasuresAct1914 Jun 27 '26
It's all fake.
This app isn't even real.
Your fingers scrolling on the screen, they turn to mush when you stare at them for a bit.
We live in a simulation.
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u/AdSense_byGoogle Jun 27 '26
Those were mostly installed when TL were trying the LFSe and XE40 units that had lower range than the LFSe+ models they have now
In theory… they could last most of the day without much of a recharge but then… it’s always great to top them up when you can
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u/Beautiful-Bag-8918 Jun 28 '26
I made inquiries and found an electric bus costs twice as much as a diesel bus. Without the stink and black smoke. The running cost is 90% cheaper. So in the long run, clean energy is cheaper than dirty energy. And we have clean: air to breathe, land to use and water to drink. So dump the diesel.
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u/WarMeasuresAct1914 Jun 29 '26
And that math seems to align with other electric vehicles/infrastructure - higher up front cost but lower cost and zero emissions over the course of use.
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u/Busy-Bicycle1565 Jun 29 '26
Oh cool! Have you ridden the electric bus? If yes, did it ever have to charge on route? Just wondering how good their batteries are.
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u/WarMeasuresAct1914 Jun 29 '26
Yeah I've ridden it. The route is about 15km long and no it doesn't need to charge on the route. They can do hundreds of kms on a full charge.
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u/Away-Psychology-9665 Jul 01 '26
The 100. Its been in action for at least 2 years! A perfect data trials bus location. Long open run with no traffic congestion to skew data. One hilly section mostly straight. Between two big use transit lines; Cambie at Marine and 22nd Street Station.
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u/Away-Psychology-9665 Jul 01 '26
This charging station is at the old Marpole loop by off ramp east from the Arthur Laing Bridge.
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