First Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Bus Delivered in California

The Napa Valley Unified School District has taken delivery of California's first hybrid school bus, joining Napa's existing bus fleet for the first day of school on August 20. The bus was manufactured by the IC Corporation, an affiliate of Navistar International Corporation, which is based in Warrenville, Ill, and is the fifth of 17 plug-in hybrid electric school buses sold across the country recently.

This hybrid school bus, has higher gas mileage and improved safety features that promise to help save the environment, while keeping its precious cargo even more safe as well. The bus gets 12.2 mpg, twice the six miles most diesel buses are able to eek out of a gallon of gas while driving traditional stop-and-go bus routes. This bus is powered using a combination of electricity and biodiesel, a combination of biofuel and diesel.

The cost of being first seems extraordinary. The new bus had a price tag of $249,000, more than twice the $95,000 price typical of school buses. However, after receiving $55,000 from the federal government, $50,000 from the school district and $100,000 from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, plus funding from the EPA and PG&E, Napa ended up spending less than half the cost of a regular bus to obtain the hybrid bus. The Napa school district expects the price of hybrid school buses to drop significantly as volume sold increases, and one can expect more school districts to jump at the change to buy hybrid school buses with deals sweetened as much as this.

While the hybrid electric school bus has a 100 gallon gas tank, the same size as diesel buses, the hybrid's tank will be filled with 80% soy-derived biofuel and only 20% diesel. Because biofuel and diesel cost roughly the same, the school will enjoy 50% cost savings on fuel due to the improved mileage, as well as twice the range of a standard bus. In addition, the hybrid bus emits over 60% less nitrogen oxide and over 30% less carbon dioxide than a standard bus. It certainly seems line Napa's early action has created a win-win-win situation for the school district, the students, and the environment. Let's hope other school districts embrace the new technology as well.