Presentation Description
The City of Ottawa approved its first Climate Change Master Plan in 2020. The plan includes targets of reducing carbon emissions from City operations by 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2040. With the operation of transit buses being a significant contributor to the City’s carbon emissions, the Transit Service Department initiated the Bus Alternative Energy Systems (BAES) Project. Completed with the assistance of transit operations, energy, and greenhouse gas specialists from Dillon Consulting Limited, the BAES Project included an assessment of potential bus propulsion technologies, selection of a preferred propulsion technology, and development of an implementation plan that considered not only the buses, but the necessary transit garage infrastructure, off-site infrastructure, and staffing implications. The outcomes of the BAES Project have allowed the City of Ottawa to effectively plan for the coming technology changes and be better informed as negotiations and applications for supporting funding are made. This presentation will describe the key activities and outcomes of the BAES Project and discuss current and future actions that the City is undertaking as it moves forward with zero emission electric bus propulsion technology.
The Presenters
Alex Stecky-Efantis, B.Sc., M.Pl., MCIP, RPP
Alex is a transportation planner with over 10 years of experience in the public transit and aviation industries. Prior to joining OC Transpo in 2016, he was the Manager of Airport Planning and Municipal Affairs at the Ottawa International Airport Authority. His professional experience ranges from the implementation of rail transit service to the airport, to planning the long-term development of the OC Transpo bus network, and managing planning projects for the City of Ottawa’s transition to a zero-emission bus fleet. Alex has also worked on the design and planning of many transportation infrastructure projects including bus rapid transit corridors, new transit stations, airport facilities, and transit priority measures.
Sean Rathwell, BEng, MEng, PEng
Sean is a transit and urban mobility specialist with more than 36 years of experience in the Canadian transit industry. He started his career at OC Transpo and spent 15 years working on the planning and operation of transit services throughout the Ottawa region. As the Manager of Service Planning, Sean was responsible for route planning, schedule analysis, service strategies, detour and development planning, and the operational planning and development of transit infrastructure such as terminals and stations, bus rapid transit facilities, transit priority measures and park and ride facilities. In 2000, Sean joined a leading Canadian transportation consulting firm and, since then, has worked on a wide variety of transit strategy, policy, planning and infrastructure projects throughout Canada, the United States, Australia, and a number of other countries. He has been with Dillon Consulting Limited since 2015.
In addition to being a Past President of the CITE National Capital Section, Sean has served as a member of the executive of ITE’s former Transit Council, a member of the American Public Transportation Association’s Bus Rapid Transit Standards Development Task Force, a member of the US Transportation Research Board’s Committees on Intermodal Transfer Facilities and Transit Capacity and Quality of Service, on the Canadian Urban Transit Association’s (CUTA) Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Governance Committee, and as the Chair of CUTA’s National Business Member’s Committee. He is the recipient of ITE’s 2008 Innovative Intermodal Solutions for Urban Transportation Award (in memory of Daniel W. Hoyt) and CUTA’s WG Ross Lifetime Achievement Award. Sean became a member of the CUTA Hall of Fame in 2019.
