Dearborn Public Schools receives first electric bus
DEARBORN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Blue Bird Corporation has delivered its first electric school buses to Dearborn Public Schools.
In a news release, Blue Bird Corporation, a leader in electric and low-emission school busses, announced that the school district received an advanced Blue Bird All American RE electric school bus.
The bus allows for a maximum of 84 passengers for up to 120 miles on a single charge and takes three to eight hours to recharge, depending on the charging infrastructure.
"We are thrilled to add the first electric vehicle to our school bus fleet and to test the school bus in our real-world environment year-round," said Dr. Glenn Maleyko, superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools. "Electric school buses help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Today marks an important step as we start to evaluate this new technology."
According to the release, the school district has used Blue Bird buses for more than 30 years and currently has more than 70 buses.
Transitioning to electric buses will help Dearborn Public Schools to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and save money on fuel and maintenance costs.
Partial funding for the electric school bus was made possible through a $300,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2021 American Rescue Plan Electric School Bus Rebate program.
In addition, Dearborn Public Schools received extra funding from the EPA to add 18 more electric buses through the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebate program.
The school district is classified as a priority to the EPA because about 70% of the families in the district are low-income.
