Going Electr c?
What about maintenance training?
School bus OEMs, suppliers discuss how new electric school bus adoption is changing maintenance facility operations
Written by Jim Romeo
E
lectric school buses continue to increas- ingly join school district fleets nationwide, especially as the latest figures from advo- cate the World Resources Institute indicate
a 10-fold increase in committed units over the past year. As these electric buses reach school districts and bus companies, and with a new school year dawning, it is important to consider the new face of school bus main- tenance for electric powered school buses. Maintenance requirements for electric-powered buses as well as those using alternative fuels can be quite different from legacy diesel fleets. In many if not most cases, less overall maintenance and reduced costs are resulting. But new systems bring new and different maintenance policies and procedures that affect how maintenance is performed and managed. Specifically, maintenance staffs may require additional training to service the new assets in school buses. Plus, finding qualified labor, which is already in short sup- ply for bus maintenance and the related commercial
28 School Transportation News • AUGUST 2022
trucking sector, will continue to challenge maintenance management. Albert Burleigh, the executive director of electric vehicle
(EV) sales with Blue Bird Corporation, acknowledged that many school districts are in transition from diesel or gas- oline powered school buses to electric powered vehicles. Because most maintenance staffs are trained and focused on the service, replacement and repair of traditional inter- nal combustion engines, there will be a learning curve for new fleet systems, he noted. This may mean learning new equipment and re-training personnel. “In the future, school districts will need to work hand- in-hand with OEMs and battery suppliers to provide their maintenance staff with the proper training to safely maintain and/or repair electric powertrains and related components,” said Burleigh. “Maintenance workers will need to safely and effectively handle high-voltage com- ponents on EV buses. That will be a new requirement.” The new requirements and maintenance needs of electric buses and other vehicles may be less than pre-
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