LAUSD anticipates delivery of the first buses in October 2024 and for the order to be fulfilled in early 2025.

The bus manufacturer has recently delivered its 1,500th electric school bus and celebrated the grand opening of its Electric Vehicle (EV) Build-up Center in Georgia, which will enable the company to increase its long-term production capacity to 5,000 electric school buses a year. Blue Bird’s zero-emission school buses are powered by the electric PowerDrive 7000 system from Accelera by Cummins, which is a result of their long-standing collaboration on technology innovation.

Blue Bird electric school buses for Los Angeles

LAUSD already operates 26 Blue Bird electric school buses in its fleet. Moving forward, the school bus manufacturer will provide 30 Vision and 150 All American electric buses to significantly enlarge the districts’ zero-emission school bus fleet.

Both model vehicles have a range of up to 130 miles on a single charge, according to the manufacturer. Based on LAUSD’s future charging infrastructure, the buses could take between three and eight hours to recharge fully.

Blue Bird stresses that its electric buses come standard with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability. This bi-directional charging technology will allow LAUSD to potentially sell excess energy stored in school bus batteries back to electric power companies at a profit. In addition, V2G programs help balance demands on the grid and improve grid resiliency.

“Los Angeles Unified is excited to move toward the electrification of our Sun Valley Bus Yard school buses,” said 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. 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,” said Phil Horlock, CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “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.”

“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,” said John Landherr, President & 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.”

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Blue Bird recently celebrated the grand opening of its Electric Vehicle (EV) Build-up Center in Georgia, which will enable the company to increase its long-term production capacity to 5,000 electric school buses a year. Blue Bird’s zero-emission school buses are powered by the electric PowerDrive 7000 system from Accelera by Cummins, which is a result of their long-standing collaboration on technology innovation.

1,500 electric school buses delivered by Blue Bird

Modesto City School purchased its advanced electric vehicles through Blue Bird’s authorized school bus dealer A-Z Bus Sales in California.

Modesto’s milestone unit is now one of 1,500 Blue Bird electric school buses serving school districts across 41 U.S. states, the OEM says. And adds: “Replacing 1,500 diesel-powered and polluting school buses with an equal number of zero-emission vehicles reduces harmful carbon emissions by nearly 16,000 metric tons annually. In addition, more than 110,000 students a day are no longer exposed to diesel tailpipe emissions linked to serious health issues such as asthma or heart disease”.

“Blue Bird is recognized as the technology leader and innovator of low- and zero-emission school buses. We are proud to celebrate this major milestone – an industry first – with Modesto City Schools and all our valued customers across North America. In addition, we are thankful to our amazing employees, dealers, and suppliers for contributing every day to our joint success,” said Britton Smith, president at Blue Bird Corporation. “The demand for clean and sustainable school bus transportation remains high. Therefore, Blue Bird continues to significantly expand its electric school bus production.”

“The completion of our fleet of electric buses is just one of many steps we are taking toward environmental sustainability at Modesto City Schools,” said Dr. Sara Noguchi, superintendent of Modesto City Schools. “This project speaks to the impact that any district can choose to have – by committing to environmental sustainability and prioritizing dollars and effort toward that goal.”

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The Blue Bird Vision vehicle launch represents a continued partnership between Blue Bird and Accelera by Cummins, Cummins’ zero-emissions technology business segment, already announced in March 2023.

Blue Bird will continue to build its next-generation electric school buses at its manufacturing facility in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company in May 2023 celebrated the grand opening of its EV Build-up Center, which will enable Blue Bird to increase its long-term production capacity to 5,000 electric school buses a year.

Blue Bird Vision electric school bus, the features

Blue Bird Vision new Type C electric school bus features a powertrain platform and a next-generation battery with a capacity of 196kWh, a more than 25 percent capacity increase compared to today’s model bus. The battery enables a vehicle range of up to 130 miles on a single charge, Blue Bird states.

The next-generation battery takes merely three hours to fully recharge since it supports a fast-charging rate of 80kW.

In addition, Blue Bird “improved the warranty on the upgraded system to allow for 360 MWh of energy throughput, more than double the amount compared to the standard battery offering. This will benefit Blue Bird customers who utilize the batteries’ revenue-generating vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities. V2G technology allows EV fleet operators to sell excess energy stored in school bus batteries back to electric power companies at a profit”, the manufacturer says.

The next-generation compact and lightweight batteries contribute to improved efficiency and a vehicle weight reduction of approximately 1,000 lbs. In turn, Blue Bird increased the seating capacity of its new Vision electric bus to 77 passengers, up from 72 passengers.

In addition, the advanced Vision electric school bus performs even better in cold weather climates than its predecessor. An improved engineering design and internally insulated batteries limit the heat loss in the vehicle’s next-generation energy storage system. Furthermore, a new optional fuel-fired heating system generates over 20 percent more cabin heat than the current solution.

Blue Bird electric school bus, with Accelera

“Over the past century, Blue Bird has emerged as an iconic company at the forefront of technology advancement and innovation in the school bus industry,” said Britton Smith, president of Blue Bird Corporation, which operates nearly 1,000 electric school buses in North America today. “With our next-generation Vision electric school bus, we continue to take clean student transportation to the next performance level and provide superior, zero-emission buses to school districts across North America. Blue Bird is ever evolving.”

“Accelera’s partnership with Blue Bird is in its fifth year, and together we are providing safe, efficient and sustainable electric school buses in North America,” said Brian Wilson, general manager of electrified components at Accelera. “Decarbonizing fleets is not easy, but collaborations like this are defining a new era of excellence in technology innovation and service support”.

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According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is projected that 30 percent of all school buses manufactured in 2027 will be electric-powered. This percentage is expected to rise to 45 percent by 2032, based on the EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles, according to figures presented by Blue Bird.

Blue Bird’s EV Build-up Center will enable the company to increase its long-term production capacity to 5,000 electric school buses annually, Blue Bird states.

North America, funding for zero emission school buses

To support this transition to zero emission school buses, significant public funding sources, totaling over $10 billion, have been allocated, Blue Bird states. The recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) passed by the Biden Administration provides $5 billion over five years specifically for clean school bus transportation.

Blue Bird anticipates receiving thousands of additional electric school bus orders worth approximately $1 billion over the next five years, driven by the funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The EV Build-up Center is part of Blue Bird’s multi-million dollar investment in upgrading its Fort Valley manufacturing site. The facility features a dedicated assembly line for electric school buses, where skilled technicians install electric batteries and other components to transform the vehicles into emission-free buses.

Blue Bird has currently nearly 1,000 electric-powered, zero-emission school buses already in operation. The company will assemble its Vision and All American electric school buses at the EV Build-up Center. These buses have the capacity to carry between 77 and 84 students for up to 120 miles on a single charge, the manufacturer states.

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