FOSTER CITY, Calif. — Nine school districts across California and a school bus company in New York are replacing some older buses in their fleets with electric school buses.

Creative Bus Sales oversaw an order for 18 new Starcraft eQuest XL electric school buses, slated for delivery to the districts this fall. Funding for the buses was provided by the state from the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Jim Castelaz, founder and CEO for Motiv, said that the company is “thrilled to see more schools taking advantage of zero-emission solutions.”

“The all-electric eQuest XL has been a proven performer, and is ideally suited for urban districts, so it wasn’t a surprise that the majority of districts in Southern California ordered them,” he added. “Creative Bus Sales has been an excellent dealer for us and we look forward to continuing our work to show districts how easy and affordable it has become for schools to transition their fleets off of fossil fuels.”

The Type C eQuest XL school buses are built on the Ford F59-based Motiv EPIC 6 chassis. The California Air Resources Board-certified buses offer a maximum capacity of 48 passengers and 85 miles of range. The eQuest buses also sport seating compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which can be configured to accommodate up to eight wheelchairs for routes serving students with special needs.

Creative Bus Sales will also service the vehicles.

“Schools prefer the Starcraft eQuest XL for its unparalleled driving experience and ability to navigate congested city streets, while providing a smooth, quiet, and emissions-free ride,” said Joe Angeli, school bus sales manager at Creative Bus Sales.

The California districts receiving the new buses are:

• Anaheim Elementary School District

• Brawley Elementary School District

• Coachella Valley Unified School District

• Covina-Valley Unified School District

• Gateway Unified School District

• Los Angeles Unified School District

• Magnolia School District

• Montebello Unified School District

• Savanna School District

Meanwhile, in New York, Educational Bus Transportation Inc. purchased two new Type A Trans Tech eSeries electric school buses, also powered by Motiv Power Systems.

The school bus company had previously deployed a Motiv-powered Trans Tech eSeries Type A school bus in New York in 2016.

“Motiv Power Systems has proven to be a strong partner for us,” said John Phraner, president of Trans Tech. “With Ford approved technology on the E450 chassis, we are able to offer an electric version of our popular and proven Type A school bus without the need to reinvent the wheel. Over the years, battery electric technology’s reliability and performance has continued to improve, resulting in a proven and reliable bus. Motiv’s increased East Coast presence further supports our confidence in Motiv’s commitment to support our growing electric school bus fleet.”

Kash Sethi, director of sales for Motiv Power Systems, noted that New York and California are attractive markets for battery electric vehicle applications.

“The regulatory climate, available funding programs, and population density to suit fixed route applications support fossil fueled fleets to make the transition to electric. As a company with headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, we’ve always had a strong presence on the West Coast. With growing demand for electric fleet vehicles, we are ramping up our East Coast footprint in 2018 and beyond.”