7 Common Misconceptions About Electric School Buses

Electric school buses are very helpful in promoting a student fraternity that is much healthier. Unlike the diesel counterparts, they do not pollute the air.

Diesel school buses release extremely harmful gases into the atmosphere through the exhaust. Additionally, electric school buses present an affordable option and school districts may be able to offset their initial investment because of the operational benefits provided by them over the longer term.

The revolution is definitely underway, but it is slower in becoming popular because of the myths associated with electric school buses. Here are the 7 common misconceptions about electric school buses.

Read Also : How Electric School Buses Can Save Millions for School Districts

1. Electric Buses Are Expensive

Electric buses cost more than vehicles that run on conventional fuels. However, if you consider the total cost of owning an electric vehicle, they will be cheaper in the long run.

The main reason for higher costs is the batteries. The battery costs are plummeting and sooner than expected they will be cheaper than conventional fuel vehicles.

Further, the affordability of the electric bus improves as production increases due to demand. The economy of scale is what will bring down costs.

In the UK, a one-time premium is provided for buyers of electric vehicles. In the US, tax credits are extended to electric vehicle owners. Many states also offer additional subsidies. All these contribute to making electric vehicles more affordable.

2. Takes Long to Charge the Battery

The electric vehicle technology is improving continuously. The time required to charge is continuing to fall rapidly. Now, it has come down to a range of 6 to 10 hours. Ideally, batteries can be charged overnight. Batteries that are not fully depleted get charged much faster.

DC fast charging stations will be of great help for electric vehicles that need to be topped up on the go. They can be charged to their 80 percent capacity level in just about 20 minutes.

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The number of fast charging public stations is on the rise. Tesla has also come out with superchargers which have the ability to increase the range between charges.

3. Power and Efficiency of Electric Vehicles Are Less

This is one of the most common misconceptions about electric vehicles. It is commonly believed that they are less efficient compared to internal combustion engines.

According to experts, electric vehicles convert nearly 59 to 62 percent of the electrical energy drawn from the grid into power at the vehicle’s wheels.

This is because the efficiency of an electric motor which ranges between 85 and 90 percent and 80 percent when the energy required recharging is taken into account. On the other hand, conventional fuel vehicles convert just about 17 to 21 percent of the energy that is stored in the fuel.

The efficiency of internal combustion engines is limited by the thermodynamic effect.

Moreover, electric motors make use of fixed-ratio gearboxes and do not have a clutch. Many electric vehicles come with motors that offer high acceleration compared to those that use fossil fuels.

It is also possible to use a “direct motor-to-wheel configuration” for electric vehicles and this helps to increase the available power. As electric vehicles are not fitted with a differential, an axle, or a transmission, their drive-train inertia is lower.

4. Driving Range of Electric Buses Is Less

The driving range of electric school buses is measured on the basis of the distance covered by them until their battery reaches the zero-charge state.

Typically, an electric bus covers 96 miles per day. If school districts want to increase the range, it can be achieved by adding another battery pack. This enables the driving range to be increased and ensure a safe, quiet, and emission-free ride to and from school for students.

According to the American School Bus Council, a conventional fuel school bus travels a distance of 12,000 miles, on average, in a year.

Assuming 190 school working days in a year, a school bus has to cover a distance of 63 miles in a day. This means that the driving range of an electric school bus is more than sufficient to fulfill the daily driving needs.
 

Read Also : 12 Common Questions on Electric School Buses

5. Operating Costs of Electric School Buses Are High

The best aspect about an electric bus is that it enables the users to save some money. One of the key benefits is the need to use fossil fuel is eliminated.

Further, electric vehicles do not require oil changes. Other maintenance costs associated with fossil fuel-powered school buses are also eliminated.

The maintenance costs of electric vehicles are expected to fall further over the next few years because of technological improvements.

Studies show that substantial savings in operating costs can be achieved by changing over to an electric school bus fleet.

Electric buses provide a whopping 82 percent reduction in fuel costs and a massive 75 percent decrease in maintenance costs per year.

In spite of the fact that the electric school buses cost at least double that of diesel-run buses, school districts can hope to save as much as $2,000 and $4,400 on fuel and maintenance costs, respectively, in a year.

6. The Batteries of Electric Vehicles Are Not Good

The evolution of the batteries is taking place at a very fast pace. It is generally believed that the batteries of electric vehicles have the same lifespan as car batteries.

However, new research shows that the lifespan of the batteries of electric vehicles is significantly longer. It is because of this reason that many manufacturers are offering up to 10 years warranty for electric vehicle batteries.

According to modest estimates, the effectiveness of the electric vehicle battery reduces only by about 15 to 25 percent. Electric-powered school buses are provided with a battery of 160 kWh rating.

It takes a charging time of eight hours. However, the fact that the battery receives 19.2 kW of charge when it runs for an hour has to be taken into account.

7. Electric Vehicles Are Not More Beneficial To the Environment

One of the biggest contributors to environmental pollution is the transportation sector. Replacing vehicles that use fossil fuel with electric vehicles can significantly reduce the greenhouse effect.

On the basis of source of electricity, the plans of the state or community to shift to renewable sources of energy, and the type of vehicle, the production of carbon dioxide from powering an electric vehicle from the grid is less than that produced when using conventional fuels to power vehicles. Charging of an electric vehicle from a renewable energy source produces nearly zero emissions.

In addition to the environmental benefits, a reduction in the use of conventional vehicles helps to improve the quality of air in urban areas and reduces traffic noise.

Final Thoughts

We hope that most of the misconceptions about electric vehicles have been clarified through this post. As can be seen from the above, changing over to operating an electric school bus fleet provides a lot of benefits to all concerned.

 

Challenges in School Bus Fee Collection and Remedial Options

The distinct yellow school buses are a very well-known and unmistakable part of school life across the globe. School buses are considered to be the safest and easiest way of transportation for students to get to and from school.

To ensure seamless functioning of this transport system, schools have to meet certain stipulations. The expense for keeping them in operation is considerable and the maintenance of the fleet is continuous. The transport fee paid by the students is the main contributor to keeping this system functional.

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Collection of this fee from each student is not a simple task, though it seems easy enough at first glance. Challenges faced by the school in the collection of bus or transport fees are varied.

Providing easy and convenient methods of payment to parents helps the school authorities in the regular collection of fees. Schools have traditional accounting systems with personnel appointed in-house to collect fees from parents of bus users.

In addition to this, modern age tools like online payments, bank transfers, credit and debit cards, preloaded swipe cards and the like also facilitate payment with ease.

 

Non-payment of School Bus Fees – Common Causes

  • Fee Defaults occur due to various reasons – loss of employment of the parent, a sluggish economy, seasonal trade, bad planning, or plain old forgetfulness.

     

    All of the above can be remedied by timely reminders and follow-up by the school administration staff in charge of fee collections, with a few extreme cases where the higher school faculty will need to be enlisted for assistance.
     

  • Loss of employment of the parent is one of the major reasons for defaulting on fees payment. A re-prioritization of their budget very often puts the school bus fees on the lowest rung.

     

    Long drawn out litigations involving considerable amounts in legal fees and unexpected medical expenses incurred are other factors that topple an otherwise normal budget at students’ homes.
     

  • Deterioration in family relationships like parents’ divorce is another factor. They blame each other and are undecided on the responsibility of their wards expenses. This ends up in not making the payment.

     

    These and many other reasons can be attributed to non-payment of the fee by the parents. This being a very sensitive matter, the school authorities need to approach this problem with caution, patience and understanding. This can be tackled in different ways.

Communicate with Guardians

Communication with the parents is of utmost importance. It would be wise to send them a reminder a little before the fee due date. Sometimes the parent forgets to make the payment due to daily workplace pressures.

So a reminder would be of real help. Reminders could be sent through e-mails, text messaging, SMS alerts, letters and personal phone calls over and above the age-old use of the ‘student diary’.

In addition to this, the school authorities can ask parent to come to the school for a one-on-one explanation. This is seen to be very effective as the school can actually assess the parents’ distress and offer help as the situation may warrant.

Offer Tailor-made Solutions

Financial difficulties faced can be temporary in nature. An assessment of the parent’s status in case of fee payment would be appropriate before the school decides to offer payment plans. Some of the other factors that may be considered before offering any tailor-made payment options are:

•    Number of evasion
•    Possibility of the parents recovering from their current financial predicament
•    Recovery of the fees in an amicable manner

In case of first-time defaulters, the school can chalk out a plan wherein the due amount can be paid in a single installment.

This may entail giving a discount on the total amount owed if they agree to pay, but will ensure receipt of a major portion rather than receiving nothing at all.

If this doesn’t seem favorable, a suggestion to clear the entire dues in installments over a fixed period of time can be offered.

A regular evasion may have to be dealt with in a more stringent manner. Students may be restricted from entering buses after all the due notices are given to parents.

Some schools prevent students from participating in sports, athletics, games and other extra-curricular activities. It is a ‘no pay, no play’ policy. 

Schools withhold reports and results till all the dues are cleared. Students, thus penalized, consequently put pressure on their parents to make payments.

These actions, since being done in front of peers, may affect students psychologically and should be weighed seriously before enforcement.

Co-ordination and cohesion are required between the transport department and the school authorities if these measures are to be adopted. Such decisions are usually taken by more senior members of the school faculty or administration.

Read Also : Should Parents Pay for School Buses?

Other Methods

In countries and states where a transfer certificate is not insisted, parents tend to shift their wards to other schools to evade paying any and all pending dues. Making these documents mandatory will force them to clear their outstanding dues.

If these methods do not work, then the school can seek legal assistance. It may be a long drawn process, but recovery of amount is beneficial to the school bus operations.

A sure way to ensure zero outstanding on fees is to link them to the parent/guardian’s credit card with automatic payment transfers on each due dates. In this manner when an invoice is raised by the school’s accounting system, it will be paid immediately by a transfer from the pre-assigned credit card.

It would be prudent to obtain a bus enrolment contract signed by each parent. The contract with legally enforceable terms and conditions should be in place at the start of the academic year.

Conclusion

There is no strategy that works perfectly. Parents and school authorities have to work out a compassionate system wherein bad debts can be reduced, and losses minimized so that a viable school transport system is still available to the majority of the school bus users.

8 Types of School Buses – Understanding the Classification

There are many types of school buses, all school buses do not look the same. Whereas some are taller, others are shorter buses. Some of the buses look like vans and some others have their front portions appear different from other buses.

However, one common characteristic that is common to all school buses is that they are coloured yellow. Some of the school buses in the warmer regions have their roofs painted white.

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In spite of minor differences, all school buses have to conform to specific safety standards imposed by the federal motor vehicles department.

Read Also : School Bus Designs : Why They Remain Unchanged

Basically school buses are classified into 8 different types. Read on to learn more about school buses and how they are grouped into the different classes.

1. Type A

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This class of bus is further sub-divided into two other groups: Type A-1 and Type A-2. Basically, the Type –A school bus is constructed using a vehicle with a cutaway front section. The driver’s door is on the left side.  

Type A-1 has a weight rating of less than 10000 lb and Type A-2 has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10000 lb or more. This is the maximum allowable weight when the bus is loaded to full capacity and includes the weight of vehicle, fuel, passengers, and all other items placed inside the bus including the spares.

One type that was introduced in the year 2004 had the rating of 14000 Lb. The bus is designed to carry more than 10 people on board.

2. Type B

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This class of school bus is also designed to carry more than 10 people. The body of the bus is attached to a front-section vehicle chassis after construction. The gross weight rating is more than 10000 lb.

A section of the engine is placed beside the seat of the driver and behind the windshield. The entrance door for the students is placed behind the front side wheels of the bus.

This type of bus is less commonly seen these days. However, this type of bus is manufactured as per strict guidelines for specific requirements.

3. Type C

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This type of a school bus is always considered the traditional school bus. In this conventional design, the body of the bus is on a flat chassis and the gross vehicle weight rating is over 10000 lb (typically between 23500 to 29500 lb).

The Type C bus is also designed to carry more than 10 passengers. The whole engine lies in front of the windshield. The passenger door is placed behind the front side wheels. This bus is the typical one used for transporting school students.

4. Type D

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With the engine of the vehicle placed behind the windshield and just by the side of the driver’s seat, the Type D bus is designed for carrying more than 10 passengers. 

This type of bus is also called the ‘forward engine (FE) bus’ or the ‘rear engine (RE) bus’ depending on where the engine is pace in an RE bus the engine is behind the rear wheels of the bus.

Also known as the ‘transit-style bus’, in this vehicle, the entrance doors through which the passengers can board are placed ahead of the front side wheels. The GVWR of the Type D bus is more than 10000 lb (typically between 25000 to 36000 lb).

5. Multifunctional Activity Bus

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Any bus used by a school that is not intended for student transport need not be painted in the traditional yellow colour.  These buses, however, should not ply on the regular routes that the yellow school buses take for transporting students from kindergarten to Grade 12.

They are prohibited from use as a regular transportation for students to and from school. The stop arm and flashing lights are not required to be installed in these buses.

However, all the precautionary standards to protect the bus from crashing should be present. All rash-avoidance precautions and post-crash standards and conspicuity standards should be present in the activity bus.

6. School Van

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School vans are usually normal vans that have been converted into the former kind following all specifications required. Alterations that take place include cutting the roof off to make the van taller and full roll cage welding of the body of the bus.

Once these specifications are met, the van can be driven like a regular school van complying with all standards of the Motor vehicle safety department.

7. Alternate Vehicles

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All alternate vehicles used in the school are made to comply with crash avoidance standards, but they do not have to meet the traffic conspicuity regulations such as the yellow colour paint and flashing lights.

8. Non-Conforming Vans

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Generally used by schools to transport cargo, they are designed to carry 15 sitting passengers. These vans do not conform to the safety standards laid out for the purpose of vehicles that transport students.

Many of them lack even the basic safety standards that are laid out by the motor vehicle safety standards department.