HB 1140 would establish grants to help schools to replace diesel buses with electric buses by 2030. It would also help recipients share information about their experiences with the alternative-fuel vehicles.
Three of the state’s school districts and one transit agency will receive electric buses backed by Volkswagen settlement funds.
The Virginia-based power and electric company selects Thomas Built Buses to supply 50 of its Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley buses for phase one of its electric school bus program.
The agency anticipates making between 40 and 60 grant agreements for projects aimed at reducing emissions from aging diesel engines, including those in school buses.
Triad Community Unit School District #2 will receive the buses, which were sold by Creative Bus Sales and will be built by Starcraft Bus. The buses are funded by the state’s second round of VW settlement funds.
The fourth-largest district school bus fleet in the U.S., according to School Bus Fleet's research, commits to transitioning to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2040.
The state’s second round of Volkswagen settlement funding will be used to support a total of 15 clean air projects that will reportedly reduce almost 68 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions.
The new buses for Suffolk Transportation and Bay Shore Union Free School District are part of the first production line series of electric models from Blue Bird.
The Missouri Propane Education and Research Council’s rebate to Student Transportation of America is for its purchase of 10 of the alternative-fuel buses. The council has committed $1 million to help school districts in the state transition from diesel to propane buses.
Henry County Schools' Blue Bird Vision propane buses are expected to emit 500 fewer pounds of particulate matter per year and about 19,000 fewer pounds of nitrogen oxide than the diesel buses they replaced.
The National Congress on School Transportation Steering Committee firms up plans and writing committees are researching requests for procedures manual changes. The Congress will meet in Des Moines, Iowa, in May.
The program is designed to guide school districts through the necessary steps for integrating electric vehicles into fleets. Topics covered include route optimization, infrastructure assessment, and funding.
The school bus manufacturer will start offering Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems’ Intellipark Electronic Parking Brake on its Saf-T-Liner C2 and Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric bus in July 2020.
Old thinking about diesel has been corrected.
Take a look at Jouley, the first generation Saf-T-Liner C2 electric bus.
