Electric Buses

Montgomery County, Maryland, is on a roll. Earlier this month, it deployed the single largest electric school bus fleet – 86 – in the US. Now 70 of the county’s electric buses will be powered at a solar-powered, microgrid energy storage depot in Brookville.

The Biden Administration today announced the recipients of nearly $1 billion of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2022 Clean School Bus Program rebate competition. In other words, that means thousands of new electric school buses will soon hit the road across the US.

Montgomery County Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the US, has deployed the single largest electric school bus fleet in the country.

Electric buses are an upgrade over their gas-powered counterparts in every single way. New technology and software solutions are unlocking the potential behind these zero-emission heavy-duty EVs.The mighty machines are now being used to build a vehicle-to-building (V2B) “resilience hub” with emergency backup capabilities.

During a presentation at IAA Transportation in Germany this week, Chinese EV manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) has shared a myriad of new commercial EV technologies that will initially debut in Europe. The most prominent of the bunch is BYD’s new eBus platform, which is powered by BYD’s durable Blade Batteries, currently being used in its passenger EVs.

EV conversion specialists Lightning eMotors has announced its second-generation repower program that enables large transit combustion buses that previously ran on diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) to be converted to all-electric buses. Better yet, Lightning is helping fleet customers of these electrified conversions maximize the same federal and state funding they would receive if they were purchasing brand new electric buses.

A new Proterra-powered electric transit bus is set to hit the roads in 2023. Proterra announced a new partnership with Eldorado National California (ENC) for the next generation of electric transit buses.

Swedish-Kenyan mobility company ROAM has followed up the launch of its first production-intent model of electric motorcycles with the launch of its first all-electric bus built for mass transit in Africa. The ROAM Rapid is an electric bus specifically designed to address the unique challenges of public transport in Nairobi and Africa as a whole. Check it out.

Relatively new EV automaker ElectricBrands has unveiled a Camper version of its XBUS electric van, which originally debuted last year. While many of the pertinent details of this XBUS Camper variant remain a mystery, ElectricBrands has shared several images and claimed the EV is “at the top of customers’ reservation lists.” Check out the gallery below.

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan are today launching the Clean School Bus program, a part of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, from a high school in Falls Church, Virginia.

Maine’s first electric public transit vehicles – four Proterra ZX5 35-foot buses – went into service on the streets of Portland yesterday.

Burlingame, California-headquartered Proterra, which builds electric commercial vehicles, today announced that it’s increasing the battery storage onboard its purpose-built ZX5 Max electric transit bus – and that means more range.

The governor of Nevada, Steve Sisolak (D-NV), signed a multi-state agreement yesterday that pledges at least 30% of all new trucks and buses sold will be zero emission by 2030, and 100% will be zero emission by 2050.

The Antelope Valley Transit Authority (ATVA) board of directors and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently celebrated a journey to electrification that began a decade ago. Now, the ATVA has become the first all-electric, zero emissions transit agency in North America.

Lots of news in the segment of electric school buses this week, as Highland Electric Fleets signed an agreement with Thomas Built Buses to provide lower upfront costs to customers and expedite EV adoption; their letter of intent will put the price of an electric bus at cost parity with the traditional diesel option. On the opposite US coast, InCharge Energy and its partners announced a project in Southern California to deploy 42 electric school buses, calling it the largest fleet in the state.

North American motor coach seller ABC Companies has announced another successful trip across the US, this time using a Van Hool TDX25E all-electric bus. The double-decker motor coach was “Proterra Powered” and traveled 2,524 miles from Winter Garden, Florida, to Costa Mesa, California, using only public charging stations. This latest trip further showcases the potential of battery-electric buses, even larger models like the TDX25E.

Zero-emission bus manufacturer, Letenda, has unveiled its flagship Electrip electric bus designed specifically to navigate the harsh winter conditions in Canada. The all-electric city bus is the flagship vehicle for Letenda following six years of research and development, alongside help from partners like Cummins.

ABC Companies, a North American motorcoach seller, announced it has completed a 1,700 mile trip across the Pacific Northwest using a Van Hool CX45E all-electric bus. The electric bus was “Proterra Powered” and traveled from Newark, California to Seattle, Washington and back using only public charging stations. The trip helps showcase the potential of battery-electric bus capabilities, as well as the growing charging infrastructure to support long-distance electric vehicle travel in the US.

The Lion Electric Company has launched a new division called LionCapital Solutions. The new division will provide Lion Electric customers with flexible financing as they look to electrify their fleets of medium- to heavy-duty commercial vehicles such as school buses and trucks.

Electrification of school busses and fleets requires a huge upfront cost but lower total cost of ownership over the life of the vehicle. By helping spread out the purchase price of fleets over their lifetimes, Lion is allowing operators to keep in place their current financial structures.

Chinese mobility manufacturer BYD has introduced its new “Type A” electric school bus to transport up to thirty US students at a time. Furthermore, the new zero-emission bus is ADA capable up to 800 lbs and can travel 140 miles on a single charge. What may be most appealing to school districts, however, is the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities BYD’s Type A school bus will provide.

EV developer Opibus is once again paving the way for zero-emission transportation in Africa, by unveiling its first electric bus designed and developed upon its own modular EV platform. Alongside other Opibus EVs, the company is one step closer to mass-producing electric buses for the pan-African market and electrifying public transit for the entire continent.