Sourcing Renewables  -  July 30, 2021

Los Angeles Gets Five New EV Models for its School Bus Fleet

Student Transportation of America added five new electric buses to its Los Angeles fleet under a new program testing the expansion of battery-power buses into city, suburban and rural communities.

This first round of deployments under the Electric Vehicle Pilot Program replaced a handful of diesel-engine school buses previously in use in the area with Blue Bird buses featuring a Cummins battery electric system. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also helped Beard Electric EV with upgrading the existing infrastructure in the bus terminals to support Level 2 EV charging stations.

The STA EV Pilot Program intends to expand its efforts into communities across the country using projects similar to the one in LA, starting with Trenton, N.J. and Barre, V.T. The team will receive data on battery life, component life and other key metrics for evaluating the performance of such electric vehicles in varied environments.

“STA understands the desire to lower diesel emissions. Launching our Electric Vehicle Pilot Program is the first step in our commitment to making a more positive impact on the health of our passengers and our planet,” STA COO Gene Kowalczewski said in a statement. “We've invested, explored grants and made the right partnerships to build a strong foundation for a successful EV rollout. We're looking forward to seeing how well these buses perform in LA and will begin looking into other select markets in the very near future.”