The electric school bus rollout reality

The electric school bus rollout reality

Taking commercial vehicle battery electric technology to school.

School bus routes would seem to lend themselves to battery electric operation really well. In the early pilot phases of battery electric vehicles, OEMs touted the lessons learned through electric school bus deployments that could be brought to the commercial trucking market. Well, class is in session. Electric school buses are rolling and to understand how that reality impacts a school district’s fleet operation, the Amped EV Podcast connected with Rick Grisham, transportation director, Richland County School District One in Columbia, S.C., the 11th-largest school district in South Carolina, and Mabel Feng, director of product management, Proterra.

“Proterra is a company that has a history of delivering clean transportation solutions. We have had our own electric buses on the road for over 10 years,” Feng said. “With U.S. manufacturing facilities on both coasts, our almost 1,000 electric buses have ran 30 million miles. In addition to that, powering over a thousand vehicles with our core battery products.”

“Electrification has a big wave of financial support coming in the next five years,” Grisham said, “and we feel like we have helped set the stage for our state and assisted our state department’s with new laws and rebates. [The electric bus] is super quiet and we joke that the only disadvantage we see with an electric bus is that kids will be getting out of bed late because they won’t hear the bus coming through the neighborhood.”

The school district has 16 battery electric buses coming its way that will join a lineup of buses that include diesel and propane fuel types. A mixed fuel source fleet was a strength, according to Grisham, and he has big plans for electric buses. Watch the video above for the full story on how the school district is planning to utilize its Proterra electric buses.

You May Also Like

Major fleet operators call on U.S. states to adopt zero-emissions regulations

The ACT rule will require significant growth in the production and sale of zero-emission trucks, vans, and other large commercial vehicles by 2035.

fuel-generic-1400

In a letter to governors in nine states, members of the Ceres Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance—a coalition of 31 companies representing more than $1.2 trillion in annual revenue and that collectively own, lease or operate more than 2.7 million fleet vehicles in the U.S.— urged governors across the country to accelerate and support the shift to zero-emission vehicles by adopting the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) rules in their respective states.

Navigating the EV charging market

Thoughts on future-proofing charging infrastructure installations and charger/EV compatibility.

Amped-Featured-Image-EP36-AUTEL-1000x500
This year’s truck trade show EV trends

Companies focusing on truck maintenance are approaching zero-emissions differently than OEMs designing new EV offerings.

Amped-Featured-Image-EP34-2023-Truck-Shows
Extending equipment sustainability strategies to electric transportation refrigeration units

How fleets are starting to use electric TRUs in zero-emissions operations.

Amped-Featured-Image-Carrier-1400
Medium-duty EVs are charged up for applications

If EV range lends itself to short-route, return-to-home applications, then certainly they’d be prime equipment selections for medium-duty applications that many trucks, vans and chassis cabs configurations tackle on a daily basis. Related Articles – Using artificial intelligence to make a real impact on driver safety – Seeing beyond mirrors with truck camera vision systems

Amped-Featured-Image-EP26

Other Posts

Volvo starts serial production of electric trucks at Belgium factory

Three different electric models will be built in Ghent: the Volvo FH, the Volvo FM and the Volvo FMX Electric.

Mullen’s first Class 3 production vehicles roll off the assembly line

Class 3 production capacity at Mullen’s Tunica facility is currently planned at 3,000 vehicles annually per shift.

Quantron, Ballard Power Systems fuel cell powered trucks ready for delivery 

Both zero-emission vehicles feature longer range and short refueling time compared to battery electric models, the company notes.

GenH2 joins California Hydrogen Business Council (CHBC) Trade Association

The membership-based trade association is comprised of over 140 companies, agencies, and individuals involved in the business of hydrogen.