Angola, NY (WBEN) As the thermometer stays low, one school district that's brought in electric buses says they're getting high marks in transporting students in cold weather.
"Similar to a diesel bus, they've been reliable for us, servicing our students to and from school," says Superintendent Phil Johnson. He says staff has been making adjustments to ensure that the buses are appropriately heated. "In the morning, they're online, warmed and ready to go for our high school, middle and elementary," notes Johnson.
Johnson says the electric buses are similar to diesel buses when it comes to warming them up, including in cold weather like we're seeing now. "Traditionally, if the temperatures are going to be 10 degrees or lower, we'll bring in some of our transportation staff early to begin kind of bringing the busses online, warming them, doing some safety checks. That's a similar procedure in terms of timing and staffing for our diesel busses, which we still have many in our fleet," explains Johnson. He says the goal ultimately is to keep students safe.
Johnson still gets calls from parents curious about the electric buses. "Parents will call to inquire, not necessarily expressing that their child is cold, but wanting to know more information. Are they heated? Do the heaters work? What is the battery life like?," says Johnson. He acknowledges there have been reports of some students expressing that they're cold. "We've been able to isolate those situations, determine what if any thing needed to be corrected, and ensure that the busses are are operating appropriately," notes Johnson. He says every bus and every route is rooted such that the heat can and should be used full for the full duration of the ride, leaving the bus with plenty of battery life for the full run to be safe, round trip.
Johnson says he and other administrators have taken the electric bus for their own ride. "We experience the ride as students experience it, whether that's the temperature on the bus, the noise on the bus, the number of students on and off. It's important that we kind of audit our own systems as leaders to ensure the the product that we're delivering, the quality of our service, is up to the standards our community expects," says Johnson. He says his experience has been a warm and safe ride.
Lake Shore has 20 electric buses in the fleet.