The School Town of Munster Receives First
Blue Bird Electric School Bus in Northwest Indiana
Munster, IN (03.16.23) — The School Town of Munster welcomed the first Blue Bird all-electric school bus to Northwestern Indiana as a key component of its initiative to move to clean student transportation, project partners announced.
This zero-emission school bus is manufactured by Blue Bird Corporation, the only U.S. owned and operated school bus builder with more than 900 electric school buses in operation today and powered by a Cummins PowerDrive system. Fully powered by electricity, this school bus emits zero harmful substance emissions such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds/hydrocarbons. Both students and community members of Munster, Indiana look forward to a reduction in harmful emissions and an overall safer environment with the continuation of this green initiative.
“The School Town of Munster is excited to take part in improving our community’s environment. We are constantly searching for new technologies to improve our district. This EV bus project was made possible through a grant with the help of Drive Clean Indiana, and through this grant, the School Town of Munster offset 68.2% of the total bus cost. Our team is looking forward to participating in the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund Grant program to receive first-hand experience driving and maintaining an electric school bus and all that entails,” stated Sean Begley, Director of Operations for the School Town of Munster.
Drive Clean Indiana served as a project manager for School Town of Munster’s electric school bus project. In this role, Drive Clean Indiana worked with infrastructure providers and school officials to provide critical education on best practices in energy efficiency, charging infrastructure, electric reliability, and more. The nonprofit also managed the environmentally friendly destruction of the School Town of Munster’s former diesel school bus. Drive Clean Indiana hopes that the School Town of Munster will serve as an example for other Indiana school districts that are looking to implement zero-emission school buses in its fleets.
“Drive Clean Indiana is proud to have written/partnered with MacAllister Transportation and the School Town of Munster on their Electric School Bus Grant Award! We applaud their leadership to decarbonize their fleet while promoting the use of zero tailpipe emission technologies. This all-electric pilot project reduces harmful diesel emissions exposure to the most important demographic, school children,” stated Ryan Lisek, Program Director for Drive Clean Indiana.
With Blue Bird Corporation’s recommendation, the School Town of Munster has installed a Level 2 Charging Station in their bus garage, allowing the electric school bus to recharge in three to eight hours, with a 120-mile range of travel. The School Town of Munster looks forward to minimal maintenance on this electric school bus, and the overall elimination for conventional fuel, air filters, and transmission services in their community.
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