benefits while leveraging its fuel agnostic engine platforms, which allows the engines to meet the stringent regulations and comply with future greenhouse gas requirements. “Our customers can use lower carbon tech-
nologies and fuels where possible and improve fuel economy of their products in use,” he said. “To do that, we need to address the various elements of cost to ensure viability—purchase price, fuel and maintenance costs, vehicle up- time and resale value.” Meanwhile, IC Bus declined comment for this
article.
Fueling the Future Despite many seeing electric as the future, Karam in New York has his doubts, commenting that ESBs bring too many challenges, especially for smaller and rural school districts with limit- ed resources. “I know [districts] that got grant money and
after they did a deeper dive, they don’t want to go forward with it because it’s just not going to work for them,” he relayed. “We were just talking with a colleague of ours whose district is pretty hilly, and her routes are long. Nothing on the market today electric bus-wise, will meet the needs for that school district. Without fossil fuel as a backup for these districts, I don’t know how they’re going to do their jobs.” He added that he wants to make it clear that he’s
not entirely rejecting electric school buses. Rather, he said it’s not a viable option for everyone. Still, New York state is pushing for zero-emission school buses by 2035, and he noted that currently means electric school buses. He expressed con- cern because he has one route that travels four to five hours one way, twice a week. “Right now, today, there’s not an electric bus
that can meet that requirement,” he said. “So, I’m not saying I’m against it, I’m saying I’m against a fleet [that is] 100-percent electric buses.”
48 School Transportation News • MARCH 2023
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