chargE (IC Bus)
The wheels on these buses go round and round…silently.
Thomas Built and IC Bus have revealed new all-electric school buses that will be picking up kids in a couple of years.
Daimler Trucks-owned Thomas Built’s model is the cleverly-named Jouley, which is a conversion of its conventional Saf-T-Liner C2 that features a 160 kilowatt-hour battery that takes pack 8 hours to charge and is good for a range of 100 miles, enough to cover many daily urban and suburban routes. Daimler Trucks has been investing heavily in electrification and recently took the wraps off of a battery-powered delivery truck under its Fuso brand called the eCanter, along with an all-electric semi-truck concept.
Jouley (Thomas Built)
IC Bus, a division of Navistar, says its chargE electric bus was developed in conjunction with Volkswagen Truck and Bus and has a 349 hp electric motor. It will be offered with various battery pack sizes, the largest with ranges exceeding 120 miles per charge.
Both also feature vehicle-to-grid technology that allows them to be used as energy storage systems for buildings when they’re not driving.
Prices haven’t been announced, but both buses are scheduled to arrive in time to usher in the class of 2019. When they do, they’ll be jockeying for position in school parking lots with similar vehicles from bus giant Blue Bird and Canada’s Lion.