08 October 2019

While the U.S. is Starting To Adopt Electric Buses, The Mesa Public Schools is not . . .

At the same time Mesa is trying to be a new proving ground for individual electric-battery powered automobiles, a more efficient way to transport thousands of students in electric school buses is an achievement not even in the test-stage for the city's sprawling schools.
The largest public school system has purchased 50 new school buses - of the old internal-combustion kind.

To make it even worse, the bureaucrats can't seem to be able to recruit, hire (or train) new drivers for a third of those! Drivers are run out on three shifts. Students are arriving late for classes.
Any reasonable person might ask and is entitled to ask as a concerned citizen,
What's going on with that?
Is that responsible operational leadership?  
Or just another clue that Mesa Public Schools  deserve some serious change for whoever is in 'the driver's seat' NOT keeping an eye on the road ahead.   
Here's an option from a company named ProTerra >
Zero-Emission Transportation for The Next Generation
Proterra has partnered with Thomas Built Buses to electrify their most popular vehicle, creating a 100% battery-electric bus designed to meet the needs of school bus fleets.
The Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley powered by Proterra technology brings Proterra’s proven battery and drivetrain technologies to the North American school bus market, the next frontier for zero-emission commercial fleets.
Zero Emissions 100% battery-electric with no tailpipe, reducing exposure to emissions and improving air quality
Greater Efficiency Proterra drivetrain with unparalleled performance and regenerative braking for maximum range.
Lower Operating Costs Fewer moving parts for simplified maintenance and better MPGe for greater savings.
_________________________________________________________________________
YOU DECIDE . . .

Here from Axios is a report:
The U.S. is starting to adopt electric buses
 
What they're saying:
Nick Albanese of the research firm BloombergNEF tells Axios that electrification of bus fleets in the U.S. is happening slightly faster than they predicted.
  • They had previously forecast the U.S. fleet to reach 675 by year's end, but it has already surpassed 600.
  • "Growing concern about urban air quality and new financing mechanisms (like battery leasing) have been big drivers," he tells me via email. 
The electric bus maker Proterra announced yesterday that Miami-Dade County is buying 33 of its 40-foot, Proterra Catalyst E2 models.
Why it matters: California-based Proterra called it the "largest electric bus order on the East Coast." The order is the latest sign of growing global adoption of the technology that nonetheless remains very heavily concentrated in China.
Go deeper:
The evolving electric bus market
 

QOD: You can dig it