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West Virginia and Canadian manufacturer GreenPower launch EV school bus pilot project

Cabell County Schools Superintendent Dr. Ryan Saxe takes delivery of a GreenPower BEAST all-electric, purpose-built school bus. Joining him are Rhonda Smiley, President of the Cabell County Board of Education; Kim Cooper, Assistant Superintendent; Dan Gleason, Director of Transportation; GreenPower Vice President Mark Nestlen and GreenPower’s dealer representative Steve Ellis.

SOUTH CHARLESTON — GreenPower Motor Company Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of zero-emission, electric-powered, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, announced the launch of its West Virginia state pilot project to demonstrate all-electric school buses in school transportation operations across West Virginia starting with Cabell, Kanawha and Mercer Counties. The first buses in each County will be deployed this week bringing school children safely to their school without contamination from NOx emissions.

Through the pilot project done in cooperation with Governor Jim Justice, the West Virignia Department of Economic Development and the West Virginia Department of Education, three all-electric GreenPower Type D BEAST school buses will be deployed the week of September 5th in the first three counties – Cabell, Kanawha and Mercer – along with the required charging infrastructure. In the coming weeks, a fourth pilot bus using the Type A Nano BEAST with ADA capabilities will be deployed in Clay County.

“West Virginia is a perfect location for the first true pilot project of all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses,” said Fraser Atkinson, CEO of GreenPower. “The terrain, weather conditions and the combination of rural and urban settings will give a real-life demonstration of the school buses’ capabilities. The only way for school districts to become comfortable with the new technology is through hands-on experience.”

Each county will test the electric buses for a six-week period and then each all-electric school bus will move to a different county to demonstrate the buses in different parts of the state. The data collected by the pilot project will not only be beneficial to West Virginia, but also to schools across the nation.

Among some of the data that will be collected is: range, charging infrastructure needs, handling and maneuverability, operating and maintenance savings, student and parent acceptance and more. The data will help with the anxiety of change as districts look to create a new beginning of a clean school day.