Another Lion Electric school bus bursts into flames
A Lion Electric school bus caught fire Tuesday morning in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
A Lion Electric school bus caught fire Tuesday morning in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
All five children and the driver exited the bus unharmed. The incident occurred near the intersection of Jean-Talon Street West and Victoria Avenue around 8 a.m.
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
This is the second time this year a Lion Electric school bus has combusted while in use.
In January, students were evacuated from a Lion Electric school bus in Huntsville, Ont.
The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department described the bus as “completely engulfed in flames” upon arrival.
The company recently filed for bankruptcy after the Quebec government refused to continue subsidizing it.
Before seeking liquidation, Lion Electric had already received nearly $200 million in taxpayer subsidies.
“It would have been irresponsible to go ahead with another significant injection of public funds into Lion, based on the plan that was presented to us,” Economy Minister Christine Fréchette told reporters in Quebec City in May.
However, investors relaunched the company shortly after, intending to continue operations exclusively manufacturing electric school buses.
About 1,175 of the roughly 8,000 Lion school buses in circulation across the province remain in operation.
The subsidies were part of a provincial government program to eventually have 65 per cent of all buses be electric.
Lion Electric did not respond to True North’s request for comment.
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