Blue Bird, a century-old manufacturer of America’s iconic yellow school buses, has opened a new manufacturing facility to meet the rising demand for electric school buses. Announced via a press release (and a cute one promotional video) a new 40,000-square-foot “Electric Vehicle Build-Up Center” opened Thursday at Blue Bird’s main facility in Fort Valley, Georgia, designed to increase the company’s production of electric school buses from 100 to 5,000 per year.
Electric versions of Blue Bird’s “Vision” (a classic “Type C” bus with capacity for 77 passengers) and “All American” (an flat “Type D” bus for 84 passengers) buses will be assembled at the new facility, each equipped with a 155 kWh battery that offers a range of about 200 km and takes between three and eight hours to charge. There are currently almost 1,000 Blue Bird electric buses in operation, accounting for six percent of the company’s total volume. The company is currently building four electric school buses a day, but hopes the new EV facility will increase production to 20 buses a day.
Blue Bird foresees a significant increase in demand for electric school buses. School districts in the US and Canada have already started replacing their traditionally powered bus fleets with all-electric models to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, cut fuel costs and improve student health. In the US in particular, sales of electric school buses are expected to increase as a result of the billions of dollars in incentives available under President Biden’s infrastructure plan.
“Based on the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone, we expect thousands of additional electric school bus orders worth an estimated $1 billion over five years,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “Our new EV Build-up Center reflects Blue Bird’s steadfast commitment to school districts in the US and Canada to meet increasing demand and provide clean, safe and reliable student transportation when they need it.”
Billions of dollars in incentives under Biden’s infrastructure plan are boosting demand for all-electric school buses
School buses are an ideal candidate for switching from traditional fuels such as diesel (which is now good less than half the volume of Blue Bird). In addition to preventing school children from being exposed to harmful emissions, the short, fixed route of school buses is well suited for electric cars with a limited range. They also have long periods outside of the twice-daily school rides when they are not working, giving them plenty of time to recharge.
Despite overwhelming demand, the Biden-Harris administration almost doubled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cash pool for her Clean School Bus Program discount last year from $500 million to $965 million. According to the EPAs newly proposed greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, the agency expects 45 percent of all school buses produced by 2032 to be electric vehicles.
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