An electric school bus is one of those ideas that often seems to sound better on paper than it is in practice. Everyone knows that fossil fuels won't last forever, and they’re bad for the environment. But the costs of moving to electric, and the significant drawbacks of the technology, cause a lot of districts to stick to what they know. Some have even opined that it's just not possible to create an all-electric bus with sufficient range and power to compete with traditional engine technologies.
However, that may soon change. Two major manufacturers, IC Bus and Daimler have recently announced their intention to create all-electric school buses which are fully capable of performing the job. These buses were announced November 2017, and are currently targeted for 2019 release.
If your district is looking to move towards more eco-friendly solutions, it may be time to pay attention to this new trend!
Coming in 2019: Two New Electric School Buses
It's somewhat remarkable that the two announcements were made back-to-back, from two totally separate companies. From our perspective, that's a good thing; the increased competition and the back-and-forth between the two companies will probably help legitimize the entire idea of an electric school bus. The two buses are even pretty similar on paper:
- The IC ChargE was announced at the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) trade show. According to IC, it has a battery which can last for at least 120 miles, with a 260kW engine capable of providing approximately 349 horsepower at peak performance. This makes it the more powerful of the two options. By comparison, typical diesel bus engines generally provide around 200-250hp.
- The Daimler Saf-T-Liner C2 Electric Bus, or “Jouley,” will be released by their subsidiary Thomas Built Buses. It features a 160kW engine, and a range of at least 100 miles. They will also offer additional battery packs for districts needing extra range. The horsepower of the engine has not been published, but according to Daimler, will be “on par with conventional vehicles.”
This all comes on top of the announcement earlier this year from Blue Bird that they would also soon be offering electric school buses. So, districts will have at least three major brand offerings in electric buses from which to choose!
It’s an exciting time for alternative fuels in school buses, and we at BusBoss are certainly interested in following the developments in the months to come.
Is your district interested in going electric? What sort of price point would these buses need to have for them to be attractive? Let’s discuss it in the comments!