Muirhead added he wants to get to the point where
the company’s electric buses can be dispatched in the morning with a full charge and return to the facility at night, without the need to recharge inbetween. “Being the first company in New York City to do this, I want to know all the ins and outs and the best times to
CHARGING AHEAD Because of Tim Shannon’s daring, Twin
Rivers Unified School District in Sac- ramento, California, is ahead of the EV school bus curve in the U.S., the reason he was awarded the “Pioneer in Electrification Award” at last month’s virtual Green Bus Summit, presented by School Transportation News. But that curve appears to be getting less steep as private industry, public utilities and environmental organi- zations are forming partnerships and providing incentives to make it easier for school districts to electrify their fleets. Shannon’s boast of the largest electric school bus deployment may already be on tenuous ground. In January, First Student announced a partnership
with First Transit Inc. and NextEra Energy Resourc- es, LLC to work toward the electrification of its fleet of 43,000 school buses, the largest cumulative fleet in North America, and the installation of nearly 500 depots across 40 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces. According to the announcement, the tran- sition to electric vehicles for the school and public sector is expected to play a critical role in helping communities improve air quality and environmental health for student passengers. No estimates on cost were included in the announcement. “We are proud to take this significant step to
improve the environmental health of our student passengers, First Student President Paul Osland commented at the time. “The electrification of school buses has already started and is poised to accelerate rapidly. This collaboration will position First Student as North America’s leading owner and operator of electric school buses.” Then, in February, the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland voted to spend $169 million
charge. I’m happy to be to be the first in New York City to show kids and parents that we care about their health and safety. We recognize the concerns about electric buses, and we want to be a part of this learning process with everyone else.” ●
over the next 16 years to lease 326 electric school buses as well as chargng in- fractrusture, on the district’s way to electrifying its entire fleet of 1,422 buses. The district is paying what it would to purchase and operate new diesel buses. Los Angeles Unified School District’s fleet is nearly the same size and an- nounced weeks later that it was partnering with The Lion Electric
Company to add EVs. In Virginia, an ambitious school bus electrification project launched by utility Dominion Energy, Inc., seeks
to have 50 electric school buses in 15 Virgin- ia school districts by the end of this month. Adam Birdsong, the electric school bus program manager for Dominion Energy New Technology, said 31 buses have already been delivered. He noted the second phase of the initiative, aimed at increasing that number to 1,000 electric school buses statewide, is awaiting legislative approval.
Cost, Student Health, and the Environment Everyone involved with the school bus electrification
movement cited health and environmental concerns as the overwhelming motivation. California’s Shannon said Twin Rivers also has 34 CNG buses and still runs some renewable diesel buses among the total fleet of 130. “We got rid of buses that spewed a lot of particulates in the air. It’s clean air for kids and the community,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about. We were supposed to be driving the safest form of transportation for kids, yet we were putting all kinds of things in their lungs.” The one obstacle that has kept school transpor-
tation and the electric emerging technology apart has been cost. Until recently, many school districts could simply not afford the price tag associated with
36 School Transportation News • MAY 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
