Sacramento Pilot to Test 13 All-Electric School Buses

MotivPower Systems, in partnership with school bus manufacturer Trans Tech, is bringing Zero-emission school buses to the Sacramento region as local school districts lead the way in transitioning school bus fleets from diesel to all-electric.

Elk Grove Unified School District and Twin Rivers Unified School District will be receiving buses thanks to a $7.5M grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to build 13 zero-emission school buses as part of the Sacramento Regional Zero-Emission School Bus Deployment Project.

This is the board’s largest school bus grant to date and was the only application approved of all the school bus applications submitted to the state grant program. Beyond freeing buses from the volatility of oil prices, these buses will protect growing children from unnecessary exposure to fossil fuel pollution and particulate matter (PM), also known as soot, while also supporting local manufacturing in the production of the powertrains.

“The Sacramento Regional School Bus Deployment Project is a great example of how our climate policies are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating jobs here in California,” said Senator Bob Wieckowski, the chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, whose district includes the City of Hayward, where Motiv Power Systems manufactures its powertrains. “Motiv Power Systems all-electric powertrain kits are increasing the number of students who are transported in zero emission vehicles.  This is especially beneficial to disadvantaged communities where poor air quality has severe health impacts for many residents. This grant puts us on the road to a cleaner California.”

The new all-electric buses will be powered by Motiv’s award-winning all-electric powertrains, which are both designed and manufactured in California, supporting local manufacturing jobs. The buses, Trans Tech’s all-electric eSeries built on the Ford E450 chassis, will be distributed by First Priority GreenFleet.

As the only all-electric technology approved by Ford for its commercial chassis, the Motiv All-Electric Powertrain has successfully been scaled from school buses in California and New York, to shuttle buses funded by Google and the California Energy Commission, delivery walk-in vans for AmeriPride and North America’s only all-electric refuse truck deployed by the City of Chicago.

Category: Featured, Green