GreenPower is delivering five Type D BEAST all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses to two school districts in California.

Deploying Electric School Buses on the West Coast

Of the five BEASTs to be delivered, four will go to the Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District and the fifth to the Terra Bella Union Elementary School District.

In addition to these deliveries, in the next few weeks GreenPower plans to deliver up to four more Type D BEAST school buses to California schools, and two BEASTs to schools in Oregon, with up to an additional 20 school buses expected to be delivered in California over the next 90 to 120 days.

"Delivery of our all-electric Type D BEAST school buses in California this week shows the continued preference for GreenPower's purpose-built product in the marketplace," GreenPower School Bus Group Vice President of Sales Paul Start said. "GreenPower remains the only OEM to manufacture both a Class 4 purpose-built Type A all-electric school bus in its Nano BEAST and a Type D all-electric, purpose-built school bus in its BEAST. This product combination allows school districts to meet its student transportation needs, all while taking full advantage of state incentives and programs."

A Look at the BEAST Type D Electric School Bus 

GreenPower's BEAST is a purpose-built 40-ft. Type D all-electric, zero-emission school bus with seating for up to 90 students. Designed from the ground up, it is a unified structure that features a seamlessly integrated aluminum body made from extruded aluminum manufactured by Constellium on a high strength steel Truss (bus) chassis.

The complete flat floor design allows for tracking with no obstacles, and the high floors keep students out of the crash zone.

Dual port charging is standard with Level 2 rates up to 19.2 kW and DC Fast Charging rates up to 85 kW. Wireless charging is also available as an option.

Funding Eligibility for California Schools

The Type D BEAST and Type A Nano BEAST are both eligible for California HVIP vouchers and qualify for grants under the California Zero-Emission School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program.

ZESBI grants pair zero-emission (ZE) school bus vehicle funding offered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with charging infrastructure funding offered by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

A total of $500 million is appropriated by Senate Bill (SB) 114 for ZESBI for Fiscal Year 2023-24.

Of that amount, $375 million is allocated to support the replacement of old school buses with ZE school buses and $125 million is allocated to support complementary infrastructure and associated costs. ZESBI utilizes a joint application for vehicles and infrastructure. The joint application will close on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024 at 5:00 P.M. PST.