Autobus Groupe Séguin (Autobus Séguin), a transportation operator based in Laval, Quebec, has placed an order for 60 LionC school buses from The Lion Electric Co. (Lion Electric).

Autobus Séguin will integrate the electric buses into the company's current fleet of vehicles over a five-year period, according to a news release from the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. The first 10 buses will be delivered throughout the 2021 calendar year, and will be used from the start of the 2021-22 school year through the seven service centers operated by Autobus Séguin. The remaining 50 buses will be delivered through 2026, subject to continued satisfaction of certain conditions, according to Lion Electric.

"We are happy to continue the pioneering tradition established at Autobus Séguin by participating in this current wind of change, and by making this important shift towards the electrification of school transportation,” said Stéphane Boisvert, president at Autobus Séguin. “Ultimately, our ambition is to electrify our entire fleet of more than 310 school buses by 2030.”

On average, a school bus emits 23 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year, according to Lion Electric. With this initiative, Autobus Séguin will reportedly eliminate 1,380 tons of GHG per year.

“Autobus Séguin is showing its clear leadership in migrating to electrification, and this initiative serves as proof that it is possible for fleet operators to electrify a large number of vehicles,” said Marc Bedard, founder and CEO of Lion Electric. “We are happy to support the Autobus Séguin team, thus optimizing the success of the transition to emission-free school transportation, for the benefit of children's health and safety.”

The support program for the deployment of electric school buses in Quebec, which is part of the Government of Quebec's Transportation Electrification Action Plan, apparently made a significant contribution to the fulfillment of this order, the EV manufacturer reports.