Over the past week HSR has been testing its first battery-powered bus.

Dale Brons, an HSR instructor for nearly three decades, was one of the first in Hamilton to test drive the electric bus.

“Very, very smooth. Comfortable and just a great experience,” said Brons.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, new councillors and HSR director Debbie Dalle Vedove took part in a test-drive of New Flyer’s 35-foot all-electric bus Wednesday. They were assessing battery range and the quality of the ride.

The bus has 400 kilowatt hours of batteries with a range of about 300 kilometres. It means it can run for roughly 13-hours depending on a few variables including weather conditions and the number of passengers on the bus.

“We’ll have it here for two weeks to test out throughout the city to see the capabilities and functionality of the new technology,” said Dalle Vedove.

Currently the city has 267 buses, 115 of those are compressed natural gas. Zero emissions will put the city in a much greener position which is why Mayor Eisenberger put forward a motion in the spring to investigate the possibility of turning to zero emission buses.

They cost roughly a million dollars each.

“The electric buses are part of the future. It’s not going to take over the entire fleet immediately but it’s going to become part of where we can apply them in certain locations,” said Eisenberger.

The HSR plans to test-drive up to three different buses over the next several months. Results will be compiled and HSR will present a full report to council sometime early next year.