LION Electric’s fleet of school buses is slated to gradually return to service on Monday in Quebec after a bus caught fire in Montreal earlier this week, prompting their removal from service for inspection.
The company made the announcement Friday night.
First Student, the parent company of Transco which owns the bus, said in a statement it found a “wiring issue” and flagged it to LION Electric and Transport Canada.
Quebec’s Education Ministry announced Thursday evening it was stopping the service of 1,200 LION school buses, citing a potential “defect” that may be at the origin of Tuesday’s fire.
During the incident, the bus driver managed to evacuate all five children who were on board before the fire erupted and no one was injured.
On Friday evening, however, LION Electric said in a news release that the province’s automobile insurance board had approved its plan to return the buses to service, with the support of Transport Canada.
“The plan, based on a preventive inspection bulletin developed by LION over the past few days and sent to all affected operators, provides for continued checks throughout the weekend,” LION Electric wrote.
“In parallel, the technical analysis continues in collaboration with Transport Canada to determine the cause of Tuesday’s incident.”
Montreal firefighters say it took four firefighters to extinguish the flames. (Submitted by Valérie Le Tensorer)
LION Electric confirmed in that same news release that neither the electric battery nor the propulsion system were involved in the event.
In a statement to CBC News, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) said it has ensured that LION Electric has a “safe process in place for returning buses to service.”
“An inspection bulletin has been sent from Lion to carriers, outlining how to inspect and repair the de-icing system if necessary, pending the results of their investigation and that conducted by Transport Canada,” read the statement, adding it was the responsibility of the operator or owner to perform this check to ensure the vehicles are in “good working order at all times.”
The buses are expected to be back on the road starting Monday, but it’s not yet clear which ones will be available to schools boards for transport. Inspectors are examining all LION Electric buses in Quebec through this weekend.
The Montreal bus fire is LION’s third electric school bus fire since November but there have been no injuries in any of the incidents.
The fires did not involve the batteries but Transport Canada said the root cause has not yet been determined because of the extent of the fire damage.