14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, the world's first electric school bus started work in the state of California in the United States.
More precisely, it picked up students in Central California's Kings Canyon Unified school district, and drove them to classes.
Had it not been for the fact that the vehicle was taking them to school, odds are most of these students would have liked it even better than they did. Think Progress tells us that, according to the Trans Tech and Motiv Power Systems, i.e. the developers of this environmentally friendly school bus, the vehicle has a range of 80 – 100 miles (roughly 129 - 161 kilometers).
It can accommodate about 25 students, or 18 students and a wheelchair lift, the same source details.
Although it costs about twice as much as the run-off-the-mill buses currently driven around various school districts do, it more than makes up for the initial investment during its working life.
Thus, keeping it up and running requires about one eight of the money one would otherwise have to spend on fuel, and its maintenance costs amount to just one third of the value of those of traditional buses.
Interestingly enough, it would appear that, in the near future, three other electric buses like this one will become operational in Central California's Kings Canyon Unified school district.
“I hope that by the time my daughter is old enough to go to school clean, zero-emission school buses like this one will be the industry standard,” Jim Castelaz with Motiv Power Systems said in a statement.