America’s First All-Electric School Bus!

November 1st, 2013 by Nicholas Brown

America will get its first all-electric school bus! You may have seen us write about electric buses many times before, but not school buses. I don’t understand why it has taken so long to do this for school buses, but there is a first time for everything.

This SST-e type A bus was developed under a partnership between Motiv Power Systems and Trans Tech Bus for Kings Canyon Unified School District for deployment in 2014. It is based on the Ford F450 chassis, and utilizes an all-battery, all-chassis Motiv electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) so that the school won’t be tethered to any one battery manufacturer. The school can replace the batteries with other, more-up-to-date batteries later on if desired. Apart from that, if the school needs to transplant the system into another bus, it can.





According to PR Newswire: “Our system is battery agnostic, it ‘future-proofs’ fleets against changes in the battery market, such as discontinued batteries or future improved technology,” said Jim Castelaz Founder and CEO of Motiv. “This makes a Motiv equipped bus the most flexible and customizable all-electric powertrain for trucks on the market. We are thrilled the ePCS will be assisting schools get the most out of their transportation dollars, while at the same time educating children on clean transportation.”

This bus can seat 32 students, or 24 students and one wheelchair.

“An electric bus can save a school district about 16 gallons of fuel a day, or around $11,000 in fuel savings over a year, not to mention maintenance savings,” said John Phraner President of Trans Tech. “We are very excited to continue to help school districts reduce their transportation budgets and are committed to opening the market for the all-electric school bus.”

Trans Tech Bus is a manufacturer of type A buses. It offer both single and dual-wheel models. It is a subsidiary of Transportation Collaborative Incorporated. Motiv Power Systems is a designer and constructor of flexible electric powertrain control systems.











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