Electric School Buses Can Meet the Moment in Range and Reliability
As more electric school buses hit the road in districts across the country, they’re showing that electrification can handle most routes and all sorts of conditions.
This article originally appeared in ACT News.
As more electric school buses hit the road across the United States, these vehicles are taking on longer trips and more difficult terrain – demonstrating that battery-powered buses can meet a variety of school district needs when it comes to range and reliability. Electric school buses have been reliably transporting students for more than a decade and now have nameplate ranges of up to 300 miles. From the longer routes of rural Tennessee, to the mountain terrain of Colorado, to the freezing temperatures of Vermont and the desert heat of Phoenix, electric school buses are making the grade in all types of climates and terrains.
Electric school buses are well-suited for daily K-12 bus routes because they have ample time to charge overnight and during the school day — and because these daily routes typically fall within the bus’s range.
A National Renewable Energy Laboratory study of school bus routes in three geographically distinct states – Washington, New York and Colorado – found school buses have an average route length of 32 miles, with the longest route length of 127 miles. Of the routes studied, 80% were less than 40 miles. For comparison, the nameplate ranges for Types A, C and D school buses are all between 100 and 300 miles, giving school districts options for electric school buses that can cover the vast majority of daily routes.
Electric school buses are equipped to meet the distinct needs of various types of school districts, whether that be long, humid dirt road routes of nearly 98 miles in northwest Florida’s Dixie County, or mountainous terrain in a Tribal district in western North Carolina. Districts like Falls Church City Public Schools in Virginia have found that a three-hour fast charge is enough to travel approximately 135 miles.
Some electric school bus deployments require more coordination between districts and private sector partners, like charging and grid services, to make sure the buses reach their full potential when it comes to tackling the longest routes. Cajon Valley Union School District in Southern California, for example, purchased electric school buses in 2019 and 2021 with quoted ranges of 100 miles and 120 miles, but due to passenger load and use of the A/C and heater, the buses saw ranges between 70 miles and 100 miles. The district originally held off on employing the electric school buses on longer routes, but with the help of a charging and grid services company, Cajon Valley was able to use energy management and battery analysis to successfully deploy the buses along its longer routes, which serve disadvantaged communities.
While weather conditions can impact range, electric school buses are demonstrating their ability to handle routes in all climate conditions. Cold weather, for example, cuts into electric vehicle range because more energy is used to heat the cabin and maintain an optimal temperature within the battery pack.
But in Salt Lake City, where temperatures drop below freezing on the coldest school days, the buses can handle the longest routes on the schedule (92 miles) even though using the heater requires around 18% of the range. Midday charging keeps the buses ready for the ride from school to home. Regenerative braking, which charges the battery by capturing kinetic energy when decelerating downhill or braking, allows drivers to gain 16% to 17% in battery charge while driving down a mountain pass at 55 to 75 mph.
In western Michigan, Three Rivers Community Schools found that electric school buses not only held their charge and kept students warm on routes of 50 miles in minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures, but that they also often outperformed diesel-burning buses in the same weather, particularly when handling snowy conditions, as electric school buses were less likely to fishtail due to their weight and the center of gravity over the axles.
Walla Walla Public Schools, in Washington state, observed the same advantages of electric school buses in inclement weather. “It gets pretty darn cold in Walla Walla, and we’ve had no problems running our fleet during the wintertime,” said Wade Smith, superintendent of public instruction for Walla Walla Public Schools. “The electric buses have better all-around traction because the battery pack is in the middle of the bus, as opposed to an engine in the front or rear of a diesel-powered bus."
Electric school buses continue to demonstrate that they can meet range and reliability needs for a wide variety of school districts routes, whether that entails long treks or extreme temperatures – delivering cleaner, healthier rides to school for kids, no matter where they live.