Blue Bird Grows Its Electrification Ecosystem

Blue Bird Corporation, a manufacturer of electric and low-emission school buses, continues to expand its electrification ecosystem to help electric school bus customers meet their charging infrastructure needs. The company launched its Blue Bird Energy Services business to further accelerate the electrification of the student transportation industry by providing turnkey charging infrastructure solutions for electric school bus fleets.

Blue Bird has nearly 650 electric-powered, zero-emission school buses in operation today. The company builds a full range of electric school buses, which can carry a maximum of 84 passengers for up to 120 miles on a single charge. Depending on the charging infrastructure, the buses take between three and eight hours to fully recharge.

Beyond manufacturing electric school buses, Blue Bird continues to develop a complete ecosystem of electric products and services for school districts, bus fleet operators, and its dealer network across the United States. The company helps customers assess electric vehicle and charging infrastructure needs, identify funding sources including grants, understand vehicle and fleet performance through a telematics solution, safely operate and maintain vehicles through driver and technician training, and ensure bus performance through high-quality service over the life of the vehicle.

Through its Blue Bird Energy Services business, the company provides a full suite of products and services to establish a fit-for-purpose charging infrastructure for electric vehicle (EV) school buses, including site engineering, permitting, construction, customizable hardware and software, warranties, and maintenance.

“Blue Bird's electric school buses play a critical role in zero-emission student transportation across the United States,” said Britton Smith, senior vice president of electrification and chief strategy officer for Blue Bird Corporation. “In fact, it takes an entire ecosystem of products and services to enable electric school bus transportation. We continue to build out our capabilities to ensure the safe and reliable deployment of electric buses putting student and community health first for present and future generations. The launch of Blue Bird Energy Services is another vital building block of sustainable transportation solutions.”

Blue Bird Energy Services offers various electric school bus charging options ranging from AC Level 2 charging rated at 19.2kW to DC fast-chargers rated at 30, 60, and 120kW. Chargers feature single or dual ports to connect and charge simultaneously up to two electric-powered vehicles. 

Originally posted on School Bus Fleet