Diesel remains the fuel of choice for most school bus operators, but the margins are thinning, despite emissions that can be on par with its alternatives. Increased maintenance costs are a reason for the defection.
Ease of maintenance is one of the reasons manu-
facturers give for the benefits of buying purpose-built electric buses as opposed to trying to retrofit conven- tional buses. “A conventional bus is laid out to accommodate a
drivetrain that is very different to that of an electric vehicle. An electric vehicle can position many of its components lower in the chassis, and the drivetrain is much simpler in layout,” said Lion’s Alexander. “For ex- ample, while a diesel bus requires a large compartment at the front of the bus for the engine, in an electric bus the electric motor can be positioned between the frame rails and lower to the ground. It is physically smaller and has no transmission. With that one step an elec- tric bus has freed up space in the chassis and under the hood that can now be used for something else, like cooling, battery storage, electronic components or just free space … A dedicated EV platform allows for easier maintenance because we can choose the right packag- ing for access, more optimized aerodynamics, a lighter body and more room for batteries to be placed.”
retrofitting existing vehicles. For instance, during Green- Power Motor Company’s second-quarter earnings call last October, Ryne Shetterly, the vice president of sales and marketing, said supply chain costs have been cut in half by manufacturing a purpose-built electric school bus from scratch. “Converting a school bus to electric in our minds pos- es no advantages,” added Thomas’ Childers. Electric bus maintenance costs are also estimated to be about 30 percent to 60 percent less than on conven- tional buses. “The number of moving parts in an EV drivetrain is measured in dozens, while it is measured in the thousands in its internal combustion [engine] counterpart,” said Brian Alexander, a spokesman for The Lion Electric Company. “There can be up to 100 times fewer moving parts in an electric bus. An electric motor has just 20 parts, only three of which are moving, versus 2,000-plus parts in a diesel engine.” “EV school buses are a lot less expensive to maintain than an internal combustion engine bus,” added Trev- or Rudderham, senior vice president of electrification for Blue Bird. “There is no engine and no transmission which means no need for oil changes, and no extra parts or fluids added.” GreenPower’s Shetterly said “the drive side maintenance
almost becomes nonexistent” on an electric bus. He added that the company’s new B.E.A.S.T. school bus focused on the California market is seeing brake life extended by up to 50 percent, thanks in part to regenerative braking.
22 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2021
Training for Electric Electric bus manufacturers and dealers typically offer training for district mechanics to do basic maintenance on electric buses, including changing fluid for battery cooling. The most important aspect of electric bus maintenance training is just familiarizing mechanics with working on a high-voltage piece of equipment. Advanced maintenance is typically done by the manu- facturer or dealer, often under warranty, especially given the voltage issue. GreenPower offers free training to districts, though
depending on a district’s size—if weeks of training are needed—the company charges for it. Shetterly noted that battery swaps, the most common maintenance need, are typically done by OEMs. He said most of GreenPow- er’s training is “on what not to do—don’t cut here, don’t touch this, this is a warranty item for the whole life of bus, so make sure you call us.” Meanwhile, Thomas Buses offers a three-tiered training that includes decommissioning the high-volt- age system. Blue Bird trains mechanics at its Blue Bird Academy, and Lion offers free maintenance and train- ing through its BrightSquad, which among other things keeps track of its buses through a telematics system and alerts districts when preventive maintenance is needed or red flags arise. While electric bus maintenance is much less bur- densome than for other vehicles, Shetterly noted that
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