GreenPower to Deliver 35 Electric Buses to California Schools

­California isn’t just electrifying their personal vehicles – they’re also expunging gas-powered engines from their public transportation. Case in point: GreenPower is set to deliver 35 all-electric school buses to two school districts in Cali.

Back in 2018 (which thanks to COVID, feels like a different century), the Golden State passed regulations directing public transit agencies to transition to 100 percent zero-emission bus fleets by 2040.

This is in no small part because of the fact that the transportation sector contributes 40 percent of climate-changing gas emissions and 80-90 percent of smog-forming pollutants.

“A zero-emission public bus fleet means cleaner air for all of us. It dramatically reduces tailpipe pollution from buses in low-income communities and provides multiple benefits especially for transit-dependent riders,” said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols back in 2018. “Putting more zero-emission buses on our roads will also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases, and provides cost savings for transit agencies in the long run.” 

And just last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom expedited the process by requiring all purchased school buses from 2035 onwards to be zero-emission.

As for GreenPower’s contribution, they’ll be delivering two variants of their BEAST model, with the regular BEAST a 40-foot Type D school bus that fits up to 90 passengers and the Mega BEAST featuring a 387 kWh battery that achieves a 300 mile range.

Of course, like most electrified initiatives, this one won’t come cheap – because battery electric buses cost about 200K more than diesel versions, switching to zero emission will run California about $5 billion over the next 10 years.