SOUTH CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – GreenPower Motor Company Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of zero-emission, electric-powered, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, today announced the data results from the first round of its all-electric, zero-emissions school bus pilot project. The pilot, operated in conjunction with the state of West Virginia, is the first real-world testing of today’s purpose-built, all-electric school bus technology.
“It’s exciting to see first-hand the positive reactions from students, parents, drivers and educators as the first all-electric, zero-emission school buses transported kids in the state of West Virginia,” said GreenPower CEO and Chairman Fraser Atkinson. “It was equally as rewarding to document the performance these purpose-built vehicles delivered.”
For six weeks, three GreenPower Type D BEAST school buses were deployed on the daily routes in each of Cabell, Kanawha and Mercer counties. The buses traveled through differing terrain and weather conditions in both city and rural routes. Additionally, the BEAST was used in after school activities, transporting football teams and gear to the gridiron.
Tim Hardesty, deputy superintendent of Cabell County schools said, “We were pleased with the training and service support provided by the GreenPower team. As a new technology, this was our first experience with an electric bus, and it was a very good one.”
And the drivers agreed. “I was greatly impressed with the drivability, comfort, and handling of the BEAST,” said Carol Hall, one of the bus drivers during round 1 of the pilot. “The bus handled as good as, if not better than, our current diesel school buses with a turning radius far superior to our current Type C buses.”
The total distance covered during round 1 of the pilot was more than 5,400 miles, transporting hundreds of school kids on a daily basis without incident. The overall performance was excellent with battery consumption ranging from 1.1 to 1.5 miles per each percent of State of Charge (“SOC”).
“The BEAST school buses performed in the pilots just as we would have expected them to,” Atkinson continued. “School districts saw between 110 and 150 miles per full charge, depending on conditions and operator tendencies, allowing them in some cases to only charge the bus overnight.”
Round 2 of the pilot project is currently underway with a BEAST school bus operating in each of Grant, Monongalia and Ohio counties. The GreenPower all-electric, zero-emissions Type A school bus was added to the project at the beginning of round 2 with an ADA Nano BEAST operating in Clay County.
