The school bus will still be yellow. The wheels will still go 'round and 'round. But the traditional diesel engine is starting to be replaced by a (very large) battery!
Diesel exhaust is carcinogenic. And specific components of the tailpipe fumes, such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx), are linked to asthma and other respiratory problems in children. Changing to electric busses is a big step forward for health.
And, make no mistake, school busses are perfect for electric power.
The summer break means buses are generally not pulling power from the grid during the hottest months of the year, when electricity demand can peak. In fact, bus batteries could potentially be a resource to send electricity back to the grid.
The range of a fully charged electric bus is upwards of 100 miles, covering most routes. There’s also a natural window to charge during the day while kids are in class.
In an ideal world, the driver of an electric school bus does three routes in the morning for elementary, middle school and high school students, takes a midday break to charge, and then completes the afternoon routes before returning the bus to the depot to charge overnight.
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