Market Trends of Canada School Bus Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Canada School Bus Market according to our research experts:
Rising demand for electric school buses
With the automotive industry transitioning toward electric mobility, the investments in electric mobility by several states in Canada have been driving the market toward improved opportunities and economic conditions. Quebec in Canada is testing and adopting electric buses, which is expected to drive the market.
Transport service companies catering to the school transport demand of the region have also been exploring plans to expand into new markets and transition towards electric mobility. For instance,
- In October 2021, the Student Transportation of America company, via its subsidiary Student Transportation of Canada, announced that it has been exploring the possibility of including zero-emission mobility vehicles for use in school bus transport in Canada. The organization has submitted a purchase order for 1,000 all-electric LionC school buses, conditioned upon the satisfactory grant of non-repayable contributions to STC under Infrastructure Canada's Zero Emission Transit Fund ("ZETF"), for which STC has filed a formal application.
The Canadian national government has also invested in increasing the number of electric school bus transport services in the country. For instance,
- Under the ZETF program, the Government of Canada aims to invest a total of USD 2.75 Billion over the next five years to support public transit services and school bus services in their transition toward electric mobility.
In Canada, government initiatives are helping the growth of the electric school bus market. Although Canada is home to electric bus companies, such as Quebec-based Lion Electric and Vancouver-based Green Power, the adoption rate in the country has been relatively slow.
Owing to several such developments from the transport operators and school bus manufacturers, the demand for electric school buses is expected to be driven significantly over the forecast period, leading to an exponential increase in the market opportunities and demand for electric school buses in the region.
Decreasing operational life of School buses
School buses are an integral part of schools and educational institutions, and they require to adhere to regulations for their safe operations. Canada has an extensive school transportation system. Canada's school transportation system uses traditional yellow school buses, though, in Quebec, 46,000 students are transported to and from school by public transit buses.
All the machines, including buses, have a specific operational life. According to the statistics, the operational life of school buses has been steadily decreasing. For instance, in 2016, the average fleet age of school buses was 9.3 years. This came down to 9.1 years. In 2020, the fleet age dropped down to about 9.0 years.
The factors for a decreased operational life of a school bus include changes in the safety regulations, incorporation of new technologies, and others. For instance,
- In 2021, the NHTSA introduced additional safety features for school buses in the United States. These include a set of cameras on the sides of the bus and also seatbelts for the large bus size.
School bus safety is a particular area of interest for transport in Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers major aspects of school bus safety ranging from manufacturing standards to safety investigations such as collision investigations. The system also ensures that all school buses, whether domestically manufactured or imported from the United States, should meet the requirements of the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
Additionally, due to the growing tailpipe greenhouse gases, the United States and Canadian governments are encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, including electric school buses. The decrease in the average fleet age will result in an increased demand for school buses in the studied regions.
