My wife and I were privileged to travel to Reno, Nevada and the Peppermill Resort to the STN Expo (School Transportation News). The STN Expo is the largest event of its kind. School Transportation Officials from all over the Country travel to Reno to sharpen their skills to make school transportation better for their students.
The event is divided into three events, the Transportation Director Summit, Green Bus Summit, and the Expo itself. We were there as guests of Green Power Motor Company to tell my thoughts on the Green Power BEAST (Battery Electric Automotive School Transportation) School bus. We were accompanied by House Representative Chris Toney, a school bus driver for Raleigh County Schools, and Dr. Tom Williams Kanawha County Schools Superintendent. Representative Toney was instrumental in getting the Green Power manufacturing facility in South Charleston WV.
Kanawha County Schools were the first to purchase the Green Power BEAST in West Virginia and will receive the first BEAST to roll off the manufacturing floor in Charleston. We were also joined by several Green Power executives including Michael Perez VP, of School Bus, Contracts and Grants, and Mark Nestlen VP of Business Development and Strategy. Mark traveled to Calhoun on a few occasions, including having a “round table meeting” with all the Calhoun drivers who voluntarily participated in the Electric Bus Pilot.
Green Power Motor Company began in 2010 with the vision to advance the adoption of EVs by making battery-electric buses and trucks affordable, durable, and easy to deploy. Green Power has a line that includes thirteen EVs. There school bus line includes the BEAST, a bus with seating up to ninety students and the only vehicle to utilize a monocoque truss(t) chassis. The BEAST features an industry-leading driving range capable of 150 miles. School Buses are the safest vehicle on the road and Green Power has made them even safer. The Green Power bus is the only bus specifically built to be a bus. The students ride above the impact zone and the monocoque truss(t) chassis allows for greater impact mitigation. The majority of students like the bus, the ride, and the quiet.
West Virginia Purchased several Green Power Buses for a Pilot program, including the Nano BEAST a smaller bus that can be utilized for special needs transportation or seating for up to twenty-four passengers. The job of a school bus driver is to transport students to and from school safely. The pilot program was designed to determine if the Green Power bus could accomplish this task. We were not asked to justify battery power, the cost of the bus, or feasibility, we were tasked with driving the bus on our routes to see if and how well it would make them.
I was a doubter. The first time I heard there was going to be a bus manufactured in West Virginia I started my research. My first look at the BEAST made me shake my head. I said that is not the bus to build in West Virginia. This bus will drag and not make it on our back roads, it’s a city bus. When the bus was delivered to the bus garage and I saw it in person, I doubted it even more. We were given the opportunity to drive the bus with Green Power staff on board to show us the uniqueness of the EV. I had never driven an EV of any kind before that day. When I put my foot on the peddle the bus started selling itself to me. The smoothest running best-driving bus I have driven in my twenty years of bus driving and training drivers in three Counties. I was thinking as I drove this bus “It’s too bad it won’t work here.” I was the third driver to drive the bus on the route, the other drivers told me they had no issues with the bus dragging or traveling the roads on their routes. I was still in doubt that this bus could do it. I made my route for a week with no issues with the bus traveling the roads and making the turnarounds. There was an issue one day with charging but that was due to the temporary charger in place for the pilot.
I was chosen for the STN Green Bus summit by Green Power Bus because of an article I wrote for Ridgeview News. Not long into the pilot, I began to hear people talking things such as, “Every driver has dragged the back of the bus, it’s all messed up!” and “They have had nothing but problems with that bus.” None of these statements are true. The back of the bus had some damage that was there when we received it. I was a doubter plain and simple. I said that the bus won’t make these routes! I was wrong, it did and done it very well.
The pilot program was enacted to determine the feasibility of Ebuses in West Virginia and other States with similar terrain and climate. The pilot covered eighteen counties for nine months. The buses traveled thirty-two thousand miles piloted by more than one hundred professional bus drivers. They were operated in weather conditions including sun, rain, snow, and ice with temperatures as cold as ten degrees and warm as eighty. Grades of nine percent with long-distance pulls. Paved, gravel, dirt, and narrow roads. Electric vehicles are measured by range. Ideal conditions saw 1.4 to 1.5 miles per 1% SOC (State of Charge) (140 to 150 miles) with as high as 1.67 to 1 (167 miles). The worst conditions saw 0.7 to 0.8 miles per 1% SOC (70 to 80 miles) with as low as 0.69 to 1 (69 miles). On cold mornings in January and February with aggressive heat usage could see more than a 30% reduction in range. Air conditioning had no material impact on range. Green Power engineers are working on ways to hold the heat better in the bus. More insulation, not having to have the door open as long. Mountainous terrain/grades had no material impact on the range. The bus that ran Mount Storm had the highest range. The bus has a regenerative braking system, when going downhill the bus will generate a charge for the battery. The range is impacted by driver habits and routes. The pilot project showed significant operational and maintenance savings. Boone County projected a 66% savings in overall costs, $200 per month for electricity vs. $900 per month for diesel fuel only. $136,000 per bus in fuel savings alone over 10 years. The biggest drawback to electric buses in West Virginia is infrastructure. Infrastructure will improve in the coming years.
The Green Bus Summit was attended by those seeking alternative fuel options for school transportation. There were CNG, Propane, Electric, and even a bus powered by “cow farts, true story.” The Green Power session was well attended by around three hundred people. People who needed information on battery power in rural areas. Mark Nestlen gave the presentation on the results of the Pilot program. Next to speak was Representative Chris Toney. Chris told of his experience driving the State Delegates in the Green Power Nano BEAST and the advantages of having Green Power manufactured in West Virginia. Dr. Tom Williams Superintendent of Kanawha County Schools told us about Kanawha County’s journey to become the first school system in the State to purchase Green Power BEAST. I told my story of doubting this bus could run in rural West Virginia to realize that it can. My experience is that of a school bus driver. People in other positions work with feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and all the other elements of school transportation. Will we see the BEAST in Calhoun County? I hope so. Will we have an all-electric fleet in Calhoun County? Probably not for a while. I didn’t think I would see electric buses in my career either so who knows? Thank you Green Power, West Virginia, and Calhoun County Schools for the opportunity to be part of this venture.
Barry A Miller
