Blue Bird, which has been manufacturing school buses in the US for about 100 years, is opening an “Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Center”.
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The workshop has an area of 4000 sq.m. at the Blue Bird manufacturing plant in Fort Valley, Georgia. According to the company’s plans, the division will help increase the number of electric buses produced from 100 to 5,000 per year.
Electric versions of the Blue Bird Vision (left) and All American (right) to be built at the Georgia plant. Image: Blue Bird
Electric versions of the Blue Bird “Vision” (classic “Type C” bus for 77 passengers) and “All American” (flat-fronted “Type D” bus for 84 passengers) will be assembled here. Each will have a 155 kWh battery and a range of 200 km.
Currently, about 1,000 Blue Bird electric buses have been put into operation, which account for only 6% of the company’s total production. The company currently produces about four electric school buses daily, but hopes to increase the number to 20 buses per day with the opening of the new facility.
Blue Bird expects demand for electric school buses to grow in the coming years. School districts in the US and Canada have already begun replacing their traditional-powered bus fleets with all-electric buses in an effort to reduce emissions, save on fuel and improve student health. States expect sales of electric school buses to surge through the billions of dollars of stimulus available under President Biden’s infrastructure plan.
“We expect thousands of additional orders for approximately $1 billion in electric school buses over five years,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation.
The short and fixed route of the school buses is ideal for EVs with limited range, and the long breaks between two trips allow ample time for recharging.
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Given the strong demand, the Biden administration increased the cash pool (from $500 million to $965 million) for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that provides rebates for the use of green school buses. Under the EPA’s recently proposed heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards, the agency stipulates that 45% of all school buses manufactured through 2032 will be electric.
Source: The Verge