As we enter LEV week and prepare for inspection day, Lion Electric will be deploying its electric school buses this weekend. The Quebec government required the safety checks after an April 2023 fire tragedy. This precautionary measure affected about 1,200 Lion electric school buses across the whole province. Many parents suddenly faced difficult choices when school bus routes were implemented at the last minute.
After a Lion electric bus fire earlier this week advanced the panic, U.S. In reply, the Quebec government ordered emergency inspections Thursday. The inspections were primarily concerned with the safety of the buses. These $45 million buses are critical to their ability to serve hundreds of thousands of students across the region. As a result, lion Montréal-area school boards and service centres were calling to say their Lion buses wouldn’t be ready for the morning commute. This decision makes it harder for families to get around, no matter how they travel.
All 15 of Montreal’s school service centres experienced significant delays. Facilities outside the city that had received their inspections and cleared them had successfully operated their Lion buses. By that Sunday, these buses were already back on the road, showing a good faith effort to provide service as soon as possible. Lion Electric had initially expected to slowly reinstate the rest of the inspected buses before the start of the school week.
The suspension of school bus routes is a serious concern for many parents right across Quebec. No wonder so many parents are angry and scared. The loss of safe transportation for their children is particularly galling, as we enter the most critical period in the academic calendar. The transportation necessity is critical, and the issues have robbed many families of these choices.
As the inspections continued over the weekend, parents awaited updates on when their children could return to using Lion electric buses for their school commutes. Lion Electric is working closely with federal and state government authorities. They hope to help make safety the number one priority for students across the country.
