Plug-In Hybrid School Buses Introduced
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 04. 4.07
Students in Florida are riding on the first two hybrid plug-in school buses in the U.S. The buses use both a diesel engine and electric motor, and they plug into a power socket at night to charge the batteries. The Manatee School District bought the buses from Navistar, a diesel truck company. This week, another bus will be delivered to a school in Pennsylvania. The first 19 buses cost over $200,000, which is more than double the cost of a regular school bus. At that price, the buses won't pay for themselves over their lives, based on fuel savings. However, analysts say that the plug-in hybrid buses may drop in price, so that they cost only $40,000 more than regular buses. At that price, they will pay for themselves in just a few years with lower maintenance and fuel costs.
Ordinary yellow "type C" school buses get about 6 to 8 miles to the gallon. But the new plug-in hybrid models, rated at more than 12 mpg, could cut fuel consumption about in half in many districts. That could mean a big fuel savings for tight budgets. So the potential for hybrid diesel vehicles is great — hybrid trucks and buses offer even larger fuel savings than hybrid cars, and can pay for themselves in a few years.
:: Via Christian Science Monitor
I hate to tell you that the Blubird bus company and Westinghouse Electric Corp. built electric buss for schools and city use 14 years ago. The city of Cedrapids has electric school buses at this time. They even converted some to hybread. I dont know if any are still in opperation or not.