School District 73 unveils its first-ever electric school bus

KAMLOOPS — It’s been two years in the making, but School District 73 is driving into the future, unveiling its first electric school bus on Friday that’s expected to be on the road full time next week.

The electric bus is the first of what will be many as the school district slowly replaces the current diesel fleet it has. There are 84 school buses that serves students from Kamloops to Blue River, and eventually they will be electric.

“It arrived here last week and then we had to get it insured, CVSE [Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement] had to come up and permit it for us as a school bus,” noted SD73’s manager of transportation Sherry Kristjanson. “Now we’re just putting some finishing touches on it and it should be on the road doing the route next week.”

Kristjanson says diesel buses last about 12 years and will be replaced at the end of their life. The district hopes to purchase two more next year, according to Kristjanson.

The bus cost about $373,000, but the district received funding from the Ministry of Education ($140,000) and Clean Energy BC ($119,000) to offset some of the expense. The cost to School District 73 is $45,000. A diesel bus cost $150,000.

A look underneath the hood of School District 73’s first electric school bus (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

It is estimated there will be a 40 per cent decrease in maintenance costs for the electric bus, and considerable savings on fuel.

It’s built by IC Bus, the leading school bus manufacturer based in Illinois, and engineers came to Kamloops to scope out the terrain and climate to build the right bus for the Thompson region.

A full charge lasts about 220 kilometres and can regenerate power during a drive. The look of the new electric bus is the exact same as the traditional yellow school bus.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised that it doesn’t look different. I thought it would look not quite like a normal school bus,” said SD73 board chair Rhonda Kershaw. “It really will help us in our goals to sustainability within the district and we’re excited to see how it performs in our climate.”

The electric bus is one of 18 that have been delivered to 13 school districts across the province this month.