Trans Tech’s electric bus makes West Coast debut

WARWICK, N.Y. — Trans Tech Bus’ eTrans all-electric Type A school bus is making its West Coast debut at the California School Board Association’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show at the San Diego Convention Center on Thursday and Friday.

“We are excited about the California debut of our eTrans all-electric Type A school bus,” Trans Tech President Dan Daniels said. “We have always said that the two most suitable areas in the country for the electric bus are California and New York. With a great deal of interest already coming from California school districts, it made sense for us to make sure it was ready for the California School Board Association’s annual conference and trade show.”

As SBF previously reported, Trans Tech Bus’ first electric school bus is built using Smith Electric Vehicles’ zero-emissions Newton chassis and has Trans Tech’s patented aerodynamic design. The 42-passenger eTrans runs on a 120-kW induction motor, allowing it to reach speeds of up to 60 mph.

The eTrans will have a trip range of approximately 120 miles per charge from its lithium-ion batteries depending on the load and driving conditions.

Kings Canyon Unified School District in Reedley, Calif., will be the first district to put the bus into service. 

The district serves nearly 10,000 students over a 600-square mile region covering rural valley farmland to the Sierra Nevada mountains at the entrance to Kings Canyon National Park.

“Smith applauds the Kings Canyon Unified School District for its leadership in adopting the Newton eTrans,” said Bryan Hansel, chairman and CEO of Smith Electric Vehicles. “Smith is proud to partner with Trans Tech to make this technology available.”

“I appreciate the commitment of all the folks at Trans Tech and Smith Electric Vehicles,” added John Clements, director of transportation at Kings Canyon Unified School District. “They have worked tirelessly with us to meet all our requirements. We are looking forward to eventually putting the nation’s first zero-emissions Type A school bus in service right here at Kings Canyon Unified School District. The eTrans will have a significant positive impact on our environment and the pupil transportation industry.”

Trans Tech Bus will launch its eTrans production pilot program in early 2012, allowing a select group of customers to purchase the bus before the company begins full-scale production of the bus sometime around late 2012.