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Maryland’s Largest Electric Bus Deal Approved in USA
(Bloomberg) – A school system outside Washington is on the verge of becoming the nation’s largest electric school bus operator. The Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve a $ 169 million 16-year contract to rent 326 buses, part of a plan that could result in the replacement of the entire 1,422 fleet. county buses over the next two decades. The agreement represents the largest municipal government order of any kind for buses, according to Monique Hanis, spokesman for Advanced Energy Economics, a business association that promotes the use of clean energy. The Biden administration has pledged to support the adoption of electric vehicles and automakers have said they intend to convert their fleets to electric ones in the coming decades. The US Postal Service announced on Tuesday a 10-year contract to replace up to 165,000 vehicles with others that have low-fuel engines or are powered by batteries. Montgomery County is working with a supplier that is paying to install equipment to charge the bus at night, when energy costs are low in exchange for the ability to resell the unused energy from bus batteries back into the grid, when it is more valuable. Essie McGuire, Montgomery County School System Operations Superintendent, said at the Education Council meeting that the idea of increasing the electrification of the school bus fleet had been under discussion for some time. “There was some hope for a time that we would be able to perhaps secure a very small number through, perhaps, some subsidy funds,” she said. “But over time, we really wanted a more ambitious approach.” Proponents of plug-in cars say they hope the business will become a model for school districts and government agencies across the country. The vehicles will be built by Thomas Built Buses Inc., a division of Daimler AG with electric battery technology provided by Proterra Inc. in a deal coordinated by Highland Electric Transportation Inc. Todd Watkins, transportation director for Montgomery County Public Schools, said the contract would be the first electric school bus contract in the country that does not depend on federal subsidies. Daimler’s shares rose less than 1% to 65.87 euros in Frankfurt trade. Highland will supply buses, install recharging facilities at county bus stations and train drivers. The company will also provide maintenance and manage the billing operation. The county estimates that the costs will be in line with what it would have spent on buses and diesel operations. Watkins said the deal allows the county to avoid high upfront costs and predicted electric bus costs would continue to fall as more districts abandon standard diesel-powered vehicles for generations. “It no longer costs what districts are spending on diesel,” said Watkins. “We think that initially there will be fuel and maintenance savings. The price of electric buses will fall and the price of diesel buses will rise to the point where they are. And eventually, you won’t be able to get a diesel bus. “” I have heard at national conferences that this will dominate the school bus industry, “he said, adding that school buses are a natural fit for electrifying the entire fleet. “We know exactly where they will be at night and how far they will go. It is a kind of perfect vehicle to electrify. ”Emission factor The district should receive the first 25 buses by the end of the year. The county will receive 61 additional electric buses in the fall of 2022 and approximately 120 electric buses for each of the remaining two years in the additional phase of the contract. Duncan McIntyre, executive director of Highland Electric Transportation, said the plan is a “scalable transition to electrification” that is “financed almost 100% by the private sector.” Genevieve Cullen, president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, said there was an urgent need to electrify heavy vehicles like buses and trucks. She added that these vehicles represent only 5% of vehicles on American roads, but are responsible for 29% of transport emissions. “Obviously, transport is a major contributor to emissions of greenhouse gases, “said Cullen in an interview.” Medium and heavy services contribute strongly to these emissions. To solve the problem, it is necessary to reach medium and heavy service. You can also add the fact that, as fleets are big purchases, they are moving the market. ”(Updates Daimler’s shares in the 10th pair ágrafo. An earlier version fixed a misspelling of Monique Hanis’ name in the third paragraph.) For more articles like To do this, visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay on top of the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP