SPECIAL REPORT
new electric school buses that won’t be delivered. Peoria Public Schools in Illinois was awarded a 2023
EPA Clean School Bus Program grant to purchase 15 elec- tric buses and infrastructure. Joshua Collins, director of transportation and fleet services, said Peoria chose Lion because its electric vehicle manufacturing experience. “At the time, they were building the plant in Joliet, so
they were local and looked like they were the people to go with,” he added. “Fast forward a year later, and things didn’t go their way and didn’t work out.” Collins noted he doesn’t know what’s left of the company. “It left us in limbo because we had made a purchase
agreement with them,” he continued. “We’re navigating with our attorneys on what steps we should take and what we need to do. How do we separate ourselves from this? How do we end these service purchase agreements? “We’ve moved on to another part-
the kinks of implementing this type of technology as we believe it is likely a matter of time before more schools see the benefits.” Decman indicated to Canadian media that while he’s been pleased with bus performance to date, it’s taking longer to secure replacement parts for minor mainte- nance issues, like replacing a stop arm motor, a door open/close motor, a heat sensor, and a strobe light fuse. “Most if not all of our new contacts are no longer in the
Hopefully this
ner we are working with. We have to vacate our purchase agreement with Lion, which we’re still in the process of doing through our attorneys. We don’t want to get stuck with two purchase agreements.” Collins said he was also concerned about a potential
another. -Richard Decman,
federal pause in funding “and we [hope we] are able to use those and move forward. It’s just been one thing after another, after another.” Half of the 50-bus fleet operated by Herscher Commu-
nity Unit School District 2 fleet in Illinois is comprised of Lion Electric buses, said Superintendent Dr. Richard Decman. He added that the school district selected Lion Electric because of manufacturing at now-shuttered plant in nearby Joliet. “Our district was given $9.875 million for the purchase
of 25 electric buses and the related charging stations. Lion Electric worked directly with us to write the grant, so that we did not have to worry about spending an in- ordinate amount of time on grant writing for something that may or may not happen,” he explained. Decman said an additional benefit included projected
long-term savings of operating electric buses compard to internal combustion engine buses. He said an analysis completed after one semester of use showed $125,000 to $150,000 in total savings per year. Long-term health benefits to the school communi-
ty are derived from less emissions from electric buses compared to diesel buses and the ability to get air-con- ditioned buses, he added. “Weight is evenly distributed, the bus is quiet, and the bus is slightly larger, so the aisles and seats are more comfortable for the movement of passengers,” Decman added. “We wanted to get a head start on working out
20 School Transportation News • MARCH 2025
all gets resolved one way or
Herscher CUSD 2 in Illinois
state,” said Decman. “Since we have our own mechanics, as long as we can get parts and have their experts show our guys what is needed, via Zoom is fine, location is not really an issue for most repairs. “We just want to make sure we can get the parts in a timely fashion as well,” he continued. “Obviously, if a bus gets in an accident or needs major repairs, that will be a different story. Hopefully this all gets resolved one way or another.” Decman added that his biggest con- cern is whether the warranties on the district’s buses will carry over if the company is sold. Dr. Andrew Brooks, superinten- dent of schools for the Wethersfield
District #230 in Kewanee, Illinois, said the purchase last fall of three Lion Electric buses was funded by EPA. Upon finding out the company was in financial trouble, he reached out to his service contact, who relayed that he had been laid off. If Lion Electric cannot find a buyer, Brooks said the
district will seek another supplier. “We are looking at Blue Bird, IC, and Thomas [Built Buses] models of EV buses,” he added. Brooks said there is no delay in student transportation
operations as Wethersfield awaits Lion Electric’s status “as they can still provide them on our timetable, if they power back up.” Yarmouth School Department in Maine bought two
Lion Electric buses in 2023 with federal grant money, said Superintendent Dr. Andrew Dolloff. The communi- ty’s Climate Action Committee along with students and school staff “placed a priority on awareness and action pertaining to climate change and use of renewable energy,” he said. “A quality EV bus program aligns with the town’s goal of being carbon neutral in the coming decade.” Dolloff told Canadian media the Lion Electric buses
often display messages indicating heating, electrical or battery problems, necessitating they be pulled out of service. It has taken weeks to months to get someone from
Lion Electric to visit the area and fix the issue, he said. “We have asked for the buses to be replaced, not likely,
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