Photo provided Blue Bird premiers its next-generation Vision electric school bus at STN Expo West. The state-of-the-art electric vehicle features an extended range, faster battery charging capabilities, and an increased seating capacity.
Accelera by Cummins and Blue Bird Corp. have unveiled a next-generation electric school bus at a trade show in Nevada.
The bus, called the Vision electric school bus, includes Accelera by Cummins’ newest electric powertrain system, the Accelera PowerDrive 7000, which allowed Blue Bird to expand seating capacity on the bus from 72 to 77 passengers, and a next-gen battery that will allow the vehicle to be travel up to 130 miles on a single charge, Cummins officials said.
The bus was premiered at the STN Expo West tradeshow in Reno, Nevada, which Cummins described as a leading student transportation industry and technology event in North America.
Accelera by Cummins is a business segment of Cummins Inc. and is headquartered in Columbus. Blue Bird is a designer and manufacturer of school buses, with about 180,000 buses in operation.
“Accelera’s partnership with Blue Bird is in its fifth year, and together we are defining a new era of excellence in technology innovation and service support,” said Brian Wilson, general manager of electrified components at Accelera, said in a press release. “Continuous improvement is in our DNA, and we are driven to provide safe, efficient and sustainable electric school buses across North America by offering tailored solutions that meet the unique needs of our customers while raising the bar on expectations for (battery electric vehicles).”
In March, when Cummins announced the launch of Accelera by Cummins, Cummins said the two companies were aiming to power a new fleet of 1,000 electric school buses across the United States over the next 12-18 months.
The Columbus-based company also said in March that it expected production of the electric school buses to be significantly accelerated, more than doubling the zero-emissions school buses that the pair have put into operation since the start of production.
With 1,000 new electric school buses on the road, 10,600 metric tons of harmful carbon emissions will be prevented annually, Cummins said in March.
On Wednesday, Cummins said the two companies remain on track to reach the goal and mentioned a school district in Colorado and another in California that have been using Accelera-powered Blue Bird electric school buses.
