Clockwise, from left: The Micro Bird Propane; the IC Bus AE Series; former Marketing Manager Keith Kladder discusses the benefits of the new AE Series; the new all-electric eTrans by Trans Tech Bus.
WHAT’S NEXT? Other manufacturers are also keeping a close eye on the
evolution of electric technology but with guarded optimism. “We continue to look at electric as a viable solution
eventually, but for the next five to 10 years, I don’t think electric will be a justifiable solution financially,” said Micro Bird’s Steve Girardin. “It may have a nice ‘green’ connotation, but there’s no battery system that will last the life cycle that we need it to, and the only way to justify it is if you have battery pricing that is well below $300 per kw hour. It still needs to mature.” Electric also received some negative press
in November
regarding fires that started in the battery packs of Chevy Volts. Azure Dyanmic’s Lincoln agreed that more work must be done to drive down costs of electric vehicles to make them more viable options for customers. But, he said the necessary technology does currently exist to eventually increase the volume that the marketplace needs. “Tere is still a lot of engineering costs that need to be recovered,”
he said. “Te cost to play the game right now is prohibitive for a lot of folks. But, once the cost comes down, this technology — in our opinion and I think that of a lot of our customers with experience in [electric vehicles] — is a no-brainer. “Te savings are real, the benefits of the technology are real.
Te trouble is right now the cost to play the game is high. With some volume and some time, it will come down, and when it does, it will be far more widespread than what we see today.” ■
36 School Transportation News Magazine January 2012
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