not be compatible because the bus needs to be able to receive up to 600 volts,” he noted. “There are many chargers out on the market, and the last thing you want is to pay for and install a charger that will not work when you get the bus delivered.
“Make sure there has been or is
going to be interoperability testing done between the vehicles and the charger,” Kearns added. “Find a dealer partner that helps you through this process and spend the time, ask the questions, and educate yourself to
help ensure a smoother transition to zero emissions.”
The Road Ahead Electric school buses are not
without growing pains. Many of these issues simply come with the territory of owning brand new technology. But local news reports show
electric school buses are pos- itively and negatively charged topics, so to speak. In the Win- throp School District in Maine, for example, an electric school bus came close to a collision when it’s automatic steering and braking failed,. The driver resorted to “strong arming” he bus to bring it under control. Meanwhile, In Bethlehem, New
We are committed to moving the industry toward a greener future, and positively
impacting the health of our passengers and the planet through electric fleet initiatives.
DRIVING THE FUTURE STUDENT TRANSPORTATION OF AMERICA IS
York five of their district’s seven EVs were out for repair recently. At Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan, media reports stated that the school board heard com- plaints about new electric buses that caused “a lot of downtime and performance issues.” But the stream of new electric school buses is not stopping. The U.S. Environemtal Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Pro- gram is about half-way through its five years and $5 billion to replace existing school buses with zero- and low-emission school buses. And as new electric school buses are procured, there are plenty of early success stories. The Boone County, West Virginia, school district just rolled out three new electric school buses. “The drivers that’ll be driving these are excited,” the director of transportation told a local news station. “They are ready to get be- hind the wheel and try them out.” When they do, they are likely
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48 School Transportation News • MAY 2024
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