The journey from fossil fuels to electrification can be challenging, but school bus manufacturer IC Bus seeks to ease the way for customers from consultation to vehicle deployment.
“IC Bus has emphasized from the beginning that bus is the perfect use case for electric, which is why we leaned so heavily into making it feasible for our customers,” said Justina Morosin, general manager and vice president of IC Bus. “The driving factor has been front and center: a cleaner transportation for North America’s millions of schoolchildren.”
Helping Districts Adapt to EV Technology
Since the launch of the IC Bus electric CE Series in late 2020, IC Bus has worked to educate dealers, technicians, and customers alike about the transition to electric. The company considers itself an end-to-end resource for customers, providing consultation about everything from vehicle routes, charging needs, and deployment to vehicle readiness to ensure maximum uptime of the school bus fleet.
Recent bus deliveries over the past several months demonstrate a commitment that customers and school districts are taking to provide a cleaner, more sustainable approach to provide safe transport for students, according to a news release.
Moorpark Unified School District (California)
Moorpark Unified School District in California has received several EV buses and grant application assistance from IC Bus. The school district is in the process of purchasing more IC Bus electric buses with two grants they were recently awarded.
"We are currently operating an electric CE Series wheelchair bus and the driver loves to drive it; his kids love riding the electric bus each day," said Denise Berrington, director of maintenance, operations, and transportation for the district.
Moreno Valley School District (California)
Moreno Valley School District in California operates 42 IC Bus electric CE Series buses to transport 3,100 children to 42 area schools. All EV school buses were upfitted with special features, such as wheelchair lifts to transport children with disabilities. Moreno Valley's own sustainability goals as a district drove it to jumpstart the EV adoption process. Starting with the site survey deployment, the IC Bus team has assisted every step of the way.
Elk Grove Unified School District (California)
Elk Grove Unified School District in California runs a fleet with both regular and specially outfitted special-needs electric CE Series buses. Juggling the day-to-day operations of running a fleet of buses while upgrading to cleaner technology has been made easier with the help of IC Bus.
"Teaming up with a knowledgeable company like IC Bus and their zero-emissions team who can understand our needs while doing the work independently and keeping us aware of the progress is necessary. Having a partner to come along and assist us has been imperative," said Kenneth Black, director of transportation.
School District 20 (British Columbia, Canada)
School District 20 in rural British Columbia, Canada, has a fleet of electric CE Series buses operating in its challenging terrain of mountains and snow. The district, which is in an area nearly devoid of electric mobility infrastructure, receives continual support from the IC Bus team to make the deployment a success.
Considering Customers’ Needs
Recent deliveries to districts like Moorpark Unified School District and Elk Grove Unified School District also demonstrate how IC Bus serves a variety of customers with different bus configurations, such as outfitting buses to transport special-needs students.
"We continue to listen to the needs of our customers and make updates to our products to benefit them and their use cases," said Morosin. "We look forward to releasing more technology that aligns with our customers' sustainability and performance goals."
