The Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD presented a model of Type A electric school bus —which can carry up to 30 people— with bidirectional V2G (vehicle-to-grid) charging capacity, which allows it to return energy to the electricity grid.
Designed to be built in lengths of 22.9, 24.5 and 26.7 feet (6.97, 7.46 and 8.13 m), BYD’s new Type A school bus offers accessibility for people with restricted mobility and a range of 140 miles, constituting nearly double the average trip for a school bus in the United States, which was estimated 73.46 miles by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
In accordance with a time magazine reportNearly half a million school buses carrying 26 million children circulate in the United States every day, making it the largest public transportation network in the country. Unfortunately, 95 percent of these buses are equipped with diesel engines, which according to Time contribute “5 million tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions.” The adoption of zero-emission buses is slow, mainly in western states such as California, Utah and Oregon.
Samuel Kang, head of BYD Total Technology Solutions, said in a statement that “the two-way charging capability of our Type A bus is a game changer.” The executive explains that “school buses can be charged overnight when power demand is low, and clean, emission-free power can be returned to the classroom during school hours when the bus is parked to keep classrooms well lit. and students and teachers connected”.
The Type A truck will also be able to receive fast-charging connectors, although school buses that remain parked most of the day are perfect candidates for charging at slower Type 2 stations, which are cheaper to operate and don’t affect the durability of the battery. Battery.
According to BYD, its Type A school bus can reduce energy costs by up to 60 percent compared to diesel buses. They also represent a 60 percent reduction in fleet maintenance costs, which is entirely possible, since electric vehicles do not require oil changes, engine and transmission maintenance, periodic engine checks, among other implicit expenses. in a vehicle with an internal combustion engine.
BYD’s announcement comes weeks after President Joe Biden’s signing into law of the Infrastructure Act, which contains a $5 billion allocation to assist municipalities across the country in purchasing electric school buses. For BYD, which has already introduced a Type D school bus for the United States, this is great news, as it is for the lungs of schoolchildren across the country.
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