“ Service after the sale has always been a key part of the IC Bus success , and that is continuous as we shift toward more electric models ,” Reed said . “ It might look a little different than a traditional IC Bus , but our dealers are ready to make the transition as seamless as possible for our district customers .”
British Columbia School Districts Go Electric In a major step along the electrification journey , IC Bus delivered its first electric CE Series school buses to Canada . The buses are part of a larger order for 18 Type C electric school buses for British Columbia School Districts . British Columbia began taking steps toward full electrification in 2019 and , after meeting with IC Bus and its dealer , Western Canada Bus , wanted to move quickly . “ The government of British Columbia , which operates most school buses in the province as a public fleet , had decided in 2018 that they were going to invest in zero-emission public fleet vehicles ,” said Joel Landry , school and commercial account manager for Western Canada Bus . “ And they were seeking a direct replacement of existing internal combustion engines in public fleet vehicles – meaning they did not want to purchase two electric vehicles just to replace one diesel bus . The range and capability needed to make it a 1:1 replacement .” From there , the Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia ( ASTSBC ) began exploring vendors that could fulfill those needs . Frank Marasco , ASTSBC manager , said the spec ’ ing process was thorough but rewarding . “ We put together a spec that included our needs in British Columbia – for power , for climate control , and other issues ,” Marasco said . “ We were impressed that IC Bus , before selling a single bus in our province , made multiple visits with the head of their electrification division . Before even making a sale , they used British Columbia as a sort of testing ground for their electric bus .” Marasco said that this process was critical and helped ensure that the buses perform according to local specs . “ IC Bus really came to the table , and worked with us to ensure their vehicles meet our requirements ,” Marasco said . “ I ’ m happy to say that the buses have performed optimally so far .” “ In British Columbia , the school divisions owned around 1,250 buses with another 500 that are operated by contractors ,” he added . “ And of those 1,250 , the objective is to get 40 percent to zero-emission by 2030 . We replace approximately 100 buses per year ( under normal bus life cycles ), and now about 40 percent of those new buses each year will be electric vehicles .” Marasco added that there are learning curves , particularly in assessing data between the vehicles and their chargers – but he is confident that the districts and IC Bus are working toward making that seamless , too . “ In British Columbia , we have a challenging climate for electric vehicles , as well as a challenging route profile ,” Landry said . “ Putting the 5 Cs into action was important , since most of these issues were worked out in the consulting phase .” “ In the end ,” he said , “ we found the process is most about change management , rather than learning an entirely new mode of transportation . IC Bus and Western Canada Bus are able to deliver a product that accounts for the initial anxieties held by districts , and follows up with performance and serviceability on the back end .” The shift to zero-emission vehicles continues to accelerate , and school bus fleets will lead that charge . As school districts and fleet managers explore their own path toward electrification , IC Bus will continue to partner with customers ensuring long-term successful adoption and implementation of electric school buses .
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