Expert defends CNG bus safety after fatal Calgary transit crash kills three
A chain-reaction crash involving a Calgary Transit bus left three people dead and more than a dozen injured, prompting questions about the safety of compressed natural gas buses.
Why it matters
Calgary Transit is expanding its CNG bus fleet, so findings from this investigation could affect vehicle safety standards and procurement decisions across the city's public transit system.
A transit expert says compressed natural gas (CNG) buses remain 'extremely safe' following a Thursday crash in Calgary that killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, including a police officer who ran toward the bus as fire erupted. The chain-reaction collision occurred when a transit bus struck several vehicles before rear-ending a parked bus, triggering an explosion.
Josipa Petrunic, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium, said roughly 1,000 CNG buses operate across Ontario, Alberta and B.C., with 958 confirmed in a CUTRIC database. She noted the technology has been used in public transit for about two decades and includes heavy-duty safety mechanisms to manage fuel leakage, reduce fire risk, and withstand heavy impacts. Petrunic said the lack of seatbelts is usually the biggest safety gap in public transit, and that a 'series of events' must have combined to cause the fatal outcome.
Nova Bus, which manufactured the bus that was rear-ended, confirmed it is cooperating with Calgary Transit and relevant authorities, saying it would be premature to speculate on the cause before an investigation concludes.
Calgary Transit operates nearly 250 CNG buses, about 20 per cent of its fleet, and plans to add roughly 150 more this year to replace diesel buses. All buses go through Altoona certification testing before entering service, according to Petrunic. Investigators continue examining what caused the crash.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.