The delivery is divided into two phases: phase one is for delivery of one bus for evaluation in 2008; phase two is for delivery of up to 19 buses in 2009. The contract has a potential value of up to US$14.7M for Ballard.

The buses are intended to be showcased in the Resort Municipality of Whistler during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and then be integrated into the BC Transit fleet. BC Transit is to purchase the buses, with assistance from the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada.

Ballard is part of a consortium working on the BC Transit fuel cell fleet, with ISE Corporation supplying advanced electric drive and battery technology, and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC integrating both the Ballard fuel cell module and the ISE electric drive into a transit bus platform.

A Ballard consortium was also recently awarded $6,120,000 by the US Federal Transit Administration to develop and demonstrate two 40-foot buses with a similar design to the 2010 BC Transit designs. These buses will use the next-generation Ballard 155 kW fuel cell stack (Mk902) in hybrid configuration with ISE drive ultracapacitors or batteries. (Earlier post.)