Blue Bird Delivers 2,000th Electric School Bus

Blue Bird Corporation, a leader in electric and low-emission school buses, has reached a significant milestone by delivering its 2,000th electric, zero-emission school bus.

The Clark County School District (CCSD), the fifth-largest school district in the U.S., which operates 373 schools in Nevada and serves over 300,000 students, has added Blue Bird’s most advanced All-American electric school bus to its fleet. This milestone bus, capable of carrying 84 students, features Blue Bird’s new extended range battery. Depending on the available charging infrastructure, the bus can be fully recharged in three to eight hours.

CCSD, which maintains a fleet of over 1,900 vehicles and transports more than 123,000 students daily across 1,400 bus routes, received a grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program to support its purchase of electric buses, including this milestone vehicle. The Clean School Bus Program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which allocates $5 billion over five years to promote clean school bus transportation nationwide.

The successful application for the EPA Clean School Bus Program by the Clark County School District (CCSD) was a collaborative effort between the district’s Department of Transportation and the Sustainability, Energy, and Environmental Services Department. CCSD secured the maximum award of $9.875 million through this program. This funding includes $9.375 million allocated for the purchase of 25 new electric buses and $500,000 designated for eligible charging infrastructure. These new electric buses will replace 25 older buses that were purchased in 2010 and 2011.

“Funding from the EPA’s new Clean School Bus Program will enable CCSD to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models,” said Superintendent Jesus F. Jara. “CCSD will adopt these cutting-edge transportation technologies to benefit our southern Nevada community by reducing emissions, improving air quality, and reducing environmental impacts. Thanks to Senator Cortez Masto and our federal delegation’s leadership on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides the funding for these buses to transport our students and reduce environmental impacts.”

“Today, we delivered our 2,000^th electric, zero-emission school bus in North America. We are thrilled to celebrate this major industry milestone with Clark County School District. Blue Bird is recognized as the undisputed leader in the field of clean student transportation. Electric school buses mean cleaner air to breathe for students, drivers, and the community at large,” said Britton Smith, president at Blue Bird Corporation. “Local, state, and federal funding for clean school buses remains at an historic high. Above all, we applaud the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program for accelerating the adoption of zero-emission student transportation nationwide and for helping to usher in an unprecedented era of technology innovation.”

The Clark County School District’s (CCSD) new electric bus is part of a larger movement, joining over 2,000 Blue Bird electric school buses that are now in service across 41 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. By replacing 2,000 diesel-powered buses with zero-emission electric buses, the initiative helps reduce harmful carbon emissions by over 21,000 metric tons annually. This transition also protects nearly 150,000 students daily from exposure to diesel tailpipe emissions, which have been linked to serious health issues like asthma and heart disease.

Blue Bird’s electric school buses have collectively traveled more than five million miles, a distance equivalent to driving the famous Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles more than 2,000 times.

The Clark County School District (CCSD) purchased its advanced electric school bus through Bryson Sales & Service Inc., Blue Bird’s authorized dealer. Bryson Sales & Service, a family-owned business founded in 1969 and based in Utah, played a pivotal role in this acquisition.

School Bus Production Expanding in Georgia

Blue Bird Corporation is significantly expanding its electric school bus production capabilities in Fort Valley, Georgia. In 2023, the company opened a 40,000-square-foot Electric Vehicle (EV) Build-up Center, a key step in scaling up production. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Blue Bird an $80 million grant to transform a former manufacturing site for diesel-powered motorhomes into a state-of-the-art, 600,000-square-foot electric vehicle manufacturing facility. These investments will enable Blue Bird to increase its production capacity to over 5,000 electric school buses annually in the long term.

The PowerDrive 7000 system from Accelera by Cummins Powers Blue Bird’s Buses

Blue Bird’s zero-emission school buses are equipped with the PowerDrive 7000 system from Accelera by Cummins, a result of their long-standing collaboration focused on technological innovation. This partnership has been essential in providing sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation solutions to school districts across the nation.

Over 100 school districts across North America have successfully transitioned their fleets to all-electric with the help of Accelera’s advanced battery systems. These systems are rigorously tested to meet both passive and active safety standards as well as environmental benchmarks, ensuring that the millions of students who ride school buses daily are transported safely and reliably.