These electric school buses (above) are among 17 that were recently awarded to Michigan school districts. Once introduced into route operation, the EVs will also test the feasibility of vehicle-to-grid charging.
teries with greater capacities in a smaller package as well as a longer operating lifecycle.” Caley Edgerly, president and CEO of Thomas Built Bus- es, said that he sees interest in electric vehicle technology and the progression of technology advancing at a rapid pace. “In fact, across the board, battery-electric transit vehicles are moving toward widespread adoption in the entire commercial transportation industry,” he continued. “The industry is past a hybrid solution at this point. Dis- tricts now are eying fully-charged electric school buses.”
Developing the Grid & Educating Students Thomas Bus is currently working with Proterra on a
production model Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric school bus. In September, DTE Energy in Michigan awarded Thomas and Proterra with a five-year pilot project that is supported by VW settlement funds. The money will pay for the Jouley buses with a 60kW fast-charging system that dealer Hoekstra Transportation supplied to the Ann Arbor and Roseville school districts. The utility and the school districts are also conducting a V2G study to determine how electric school buses can support energy storage needs. Ann Arbor is receiving
38 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2019
four EVs and Roseville is receiving two. The Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation
worked with the Michigan Department of Environment to use VW money to help pay for the six new Thomas Jouley electric school buses, and 11 Lion Electric buses that are destined for the Gaylord, Kalamazoo, Oxford, Three Rivers and Zeeland school districts. A spokeswoman with the Michigan Department of
Energy, Great Lakes and Energy told School Transpor- tation News in September that all 17 electric buses will determine the feasibility of V2G applications. The technology isn’t just about going green, but
becoming futuristic. It even promises to be a boon to a student’s overall learning experience. “Society will have to adapt to the new power source, learn how to best use it, and take the advantages that it provides,” said Howard “Mac” Dashney, senior advisor for MAPT. “Education is how this transformation will happen. What better way to provide a real-world demonstration and education of what the power source is—how it works and how to learn about it—than with children having an electrifying school bus ride to and from school?” Dashney said electric school buses also offer the
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