Sarnia council has asked staff to investigate the use of electric buses in the city.
Director of Engineering David Jackson said they will do so as aggressively as they can.
"There will be a significant amount of time required to procure a consultant to go through that process to look at our needs and our transit fleet is bare-bones," said Jackson. "We struggle every day to maintain enough buses in the fleet. So, I would request that, at least for this year, we can procure this year's buses as diesel while we are aggressively investigating the electric option and then we would be bringing that to council for the 2021 budget."
Mayor Mike Bradley reminded his colleagues to be aware of the bigger picture.
"There are other things that you're looking to do, including a new transit terminal," said Bradley. "That changes dramatically if council is going to change direction."
Councillor Bill Dennis thinks the move puts the "cart in front of the horse."
"Let's face it, there's potholes in this town that will change your radio station and unlock your doors," said Dennis. "What's the point of having these fancy buses if we have streets in this town that can't be driven on properly. The savings for the time being on the diesel buses could pave a lot of roads in some cases."
Councillor Mike Stark described a switch to electric buses as a meaningful step after declaring a climate emergency.
Sarnia council acknowledged the threat of climate change last June.
Council has tabled its decision on adding to the diesel feet until staff report back with more information on the electric option.
