New electric school buses in Saint John offer ‘smoother, quieter rides’ | CBC News
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A school bus driver of 17 years in Saint John hops into the driver’s seat and turns the key of his new bus.
“I turned the key, and nothing happened,” said Dennis Shaw.
But the bus was fully on.
It’s one of Anglophone South School District’s six new electric school buses, and the silence when it runs is almost eerie compared to the old diesel engines a veteran driver like Shaw knows all too well.
“It was really different to get in that and drive it. You’re used to sounds, you’re used to vibrations,” Shaw said.
“It was a really weird experience driving that for the first time.”
Shaw was chosen as one of the first drivers in the district to go electric. When he drives the bus, the engine is so quiet that it might present a danger to pedestrians who don’t hear the giant bus coming.
Anglophone South School District has added six new electric school buses to their fleet, with another four to come.
So, when driving at low speeds, a repetitive, dinging sound plays over a speaker to alert people walking nearby.
“A lot of people say … it reminds them of the ice cream truck back in the day when they were kids,” Shaw said.
It’s a smooth ride, just like a Cadillac, Shaw suggests. Driving the new bus makes him feel like a whole new driver.
“I didn’t really know what kilowatts was until I started driving this,” he said with a chuckle.
A spokesperson for the school district said in an emailed statement they started receiving the electric buses, manufactured by a company named LION, on Sept. 6. Four more buses are yet to come for a total of 10.
The statement said the school district has “limited charging capability within our organization but are in the process of building the onsite infrastructure.”
For now, Shaw plugs in his bus at N.B. Power or wherever he “can get a spot” — even at the local Starbucks sometimes.
He said his bus has an advertised range of about 200 kilometres on a full charge, but that in reality on his route with so many starts and stops, it’s more like 150-160 kilometres.
Makes sense to have electric school buses, says expert
School buses are a great part of the vehicle market to go electric, said Emma Jarratt, executive editor of Electric Autonomy Canada, an independent news platform covering the country’s move toward electric vehicles.
“They just have their stops and it doesn’t change. They also are only used twice a day,” said Jarratt, adding that it helps with the “range anxiety” some motorists have about switching to an electric car.
“I think anything where you can introduce predictability helps get people over that hurdle.”
Electric school buses don’t need a fast charge because of this predicted, allotted time for charging, and Jarratt added they usually can use a level 2 charger, which is standard for most electric passenger cars.
She said electric school buses have been on her radar for about five years, and nearby Prince Edward Island has been a major adopter of the technology.
But we might be seeing more buses on the road — the federal government wants to see 5,000 electric school and transit buses by 2026.
Jarratt said this initiative has helped invigorate the market, and “it’s just really put the issue in front of school boards and school districts and bus fleet companies that otherwise wouldn’t know about them.”
She said nobody disputes that electric school buses are more expensive to buy upfront, but that costs are saved over time, and the federal government is currently offering many rebates and incentives for places looking to turn their fleet electric.
Electric buses also cut down pollution and noise, which Jarratt said makes a big difference for kids.
“So you know, smoother, quieter rides. You’re hopefully dropping kids off that are more ready and able to learn.”
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