ENDICOTT N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – BAE systems, which has a facility in Endicott, announced that leading members of the Association du Transport Urbain du Quebec (ATUQ) in Canada have ordered up to 1,229 battery-electric buses using a BAE Systems’ electric drive system, allowing them to run emission-free.

ATUQ represents public transportation organizations that serve the major urban centers in Québec: Montréal, Laval, Longueuil and the greater metropolitan area, as well as Québec City, Lévis, Gatineau, Trois-Rivières, Saguenay and Sherbrooke. Together, they provide 99 percent of the public transportation trips in Quebec.

“This order represents our collective commitment to improving air quality, meeting the provincial government ambitious targets and contributing to Canada’s zero-emission future,” Marc-Andre Varin, general manager of ATUQ said. “BAE Systems has been with us from the beginning of our journey, starting with electric-hybrids and now the switch to all-electric buses. This is a big leap forward in our plans to provide sustainable transit service.”

BAE Systems will provide its electric driving systems to Nova Bus for integration on the buses. The battery-electric bus order is the largest to date in North America and builds on the 1,800 buses in the province already powered by BAE Systems’ technology.

“We are proud to advance the transition to zero-emission public transportation in Quebec,” Bob Lamanna, vice president and general manager of Power & Propulsion Solutions at BAE Systems said. “This order marks the next step toward full fleet electrification – delivering reliable, high-performance systems to help ATUQ’s members reach their environmental goals.”

Over the past 25 years, BAE systems has over 16,000 systems in service on buses across the world. The technology that is used is developed and serviced at the facility in Endicott.