Blue Bird Corporation, the supplier of electrical and low-emission faculty buses, has obtained the only largest order of electrical faculty buses from a college district in its historical past. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) ordered 180 electrical, zero-emission faculty buses by way of its native Blue Bird seller, A-Z Bus Sales Inc.
The unprecedented order will assist the varsity district transition the primary of a number of depots to 100% electrical scholar transportation, advancing its formidable targets of lowering dangerous greenhouse fuel emissions whereas enhancing operational efficiencies.
LAUSD already operates 26 Blue Bird electrical faculty buses in its fleet. Moving ahead, the varsity bus producer will present 30 Vision and 150 All American state-of-the-art electrical buses to enlarge the districts’ zero-emission faculty bus fleet. LAUSD anticipates supply of the primary buses in October 2024 and achievement of the order in early 2025.
Both mannequin autos have a variety of as much as 130 miles on a single cost. Based on LAUSD’s future charging infrastructure, the buses may take between three and eight hours to recharge absolutely.
“Los Angeles Unified is excited to move toward the electrification of our Sun Valley Bus Yard school buses,” says Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “We must fully commit ourselves to creating a model of sustainability that benefits our students, our school communities and generations to come.”
“Blue Bird is recognized as the technology leader and innovator of all-electric school buses,” says Phil Horlock, CEO of Blue Bird. “We are thrilled to provide safe, reliable, and — above all — clean student transportation to the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the nation. Demand for low- and zero-emission school buses remains strong across the United States. Blue Bird will continue to meet and exceed our customer expectations.”
Blue Bird electrical buses come normal with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality. This bi-directional charging expertise will enable LAUSD to probably promote extra power saved in class bus batteries again to electrical energy corporations at a revenue. In addition, V2G applications assist stability calls for on the grid and enhance grid resiliency.
“LAUSD is making a monumental leap forward by committing to an all-electric future and providing a model for other school districts of how a transition of this size can take place,” provides John Landherr, president and CEO of A-Z Bus Sales. “We’re proud to have helped LAUSD over the years transition from diesel to alternative fuel CNG and propane buses, and as the No. 1 dealer in electric school buses nationwide, our team is positioned to now support the district at all levels with their EV transition.”
Blue Bird not too long ago celebrated the milestone supply of its 1,five hundredth electrical faculty bus — an trade first. The firm’s zero-emission autos now function throughout 41 U.S. states. With districts more and more transitioning to scrub scholar transportation, Blue Bird has invested closely in increasing its electrical faculty bus manufacturing capability. The bus producer has opened the Electric Vehicle (EV) Build-up Center, which can allow Blue Bird to build as much as 5,000 electrical faculty buses a 12 months long-term.
Photo credit: Los Angeles Unified School District
