Spring is here, but cold climate school bus operations remain on many student transporters’ minds year-round. Especially with electric school buses


Written by Carol Brzozowski A


recent Canadian Broadcasting Company story highlighted issues Prince Edward Island was having with heating its new electric school buses. Some buses were left frigidly cold with


windows fogging and icing up. Air compressors froze, leading to braking interference. District officials there are meeting with bus manufacturer Lion Electric to find solutions. It’s a case study in navigating challenges with electric school buses in cold climates. Some districts report similar issues. Whereas, others have had no serious challenges. As the Electrek online news and commentary site not- ed last month, electric school buses are outperforming their diesel counterparts in starting up in cold weather. That has been the experience of the West Grand School


40 School Transportation News • APRIL 2024


District in Kremmling, Colorado. But maintaining range while providing in-cabin heat remains an issue. The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation notes


that while electric school buses have proven to operate effectively in cold weather, range and efficiency are neg- atively impacted. Utah’s Salt Lake City School District shared for this


article that its range drops around 18 percent in winter conditions due to an all-electric heater, but regenerative breaking offered 16 percent additional range. Electric buses operate at peak performance between


55 degrees and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, using all or most stored energy for propulsion, thus maximizing range. Cold weather reduces range as high-voltage battery energy is required to maintain cabin and battery temperatures.


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