Step One: Review One of the first steps Dean Transpor-
tation took was hosting its own Electric School Bus Summit, inviting Blue Bird, IC Bus, Lion Electric Company and Thomas Built Buses to attend. “We basically asked them to do sales presentations so that we could really get into the nitty gritty in terms of questions that we had for each manufacturer,” said Christopher Dean, adding that the event also offered ride and drives as well as me- chanical inspections. “Fortunately, they were able to bring equipment with them and we could get our hands on it and ask various things.” From there, the company identified the
top manufacturers it would consider. It selected Lion and Thomas Built. “I think one important thing that we’ve
absolutely learned in this process is you have to pay close attention to the school bus manufacturers and what type of charging they allow,” he said, adding that one manufacturer can accommo- date Level 2 charging, whereas the other only offers DC fast charging. “Where that becomes an issue is if you have a facil- ity that maybe doesn’t have the proper electrical infrastructure. It’s very costly to go from basic electricity to allow you to charge it at a DC level. You may not be able to do that without some significant expense.” Which is why, he advised, those look- ing to go electric need to immediately discover what their facility can and can’t do, as it may dictate the type of bus they can buy.
Step Two: Start Initial Planning Electrification experts and those fully embracing the electric journey noted that asking the right questions is key to set- ting up a successful project. Also critical in the initial planning process is plan- ning future needs with the utility. Sasha Pejcic, the managing partner for
EvEnergi’s BetterFleet EV managing tool, explained that one important step that is often missed when starting an electrifica- tion journey is the upfront planning and establishing a framework. He said fleets need to establish where they are today, where they want to go, and how they get there. Pejcic noted that a lot of people are ready to grab the funding available and purchase a bus, but they’re not really setting it up in a way that’s scalable for the future. Kevin Matthews, the head of electrifica-
26 School Transportation News • JUNE 2023
tion for First Student, added that school districts should be asking questions about both near-term and long-term buildout. Matthews company seeks to de- ploy 30,000 electric school buses by 2035. “How many electric school buses will they add in the first few years versus the years down the road? This will start to dictate how the infrastructure is built so that it can be expanded and how their utility will look at bringing energy and electricity supply to that facility in order to meet the near-term as well as potential long-term energy needs,” he explained. “They will want to make sure they are also looking long-term so that what they do now doesn’t have to be ripped out and replaced down the road when decisions to go longer or go larger with deployments.”
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