ChargePoint leads fights against industry-wide EV charger cable theft
with anti-vandalism solutions
DISPATCH
GCSD partnered with Highland Electric Fleets , the leading provider of Electrification-as-a-Service ( EaaS ) for school bus fleets in North America , as its electrification partner to support its fleet modernization and infrastructure upgrades . With lower fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs , the district anticipates substantial savings in its transportation budget . School districts have reported paying a mere 19 cents per mile in energy costs for electric buses compared to fuel costs of up to 79 cents per mile for their diesel buses . “ We ’ re excited to celebrate the arrival of 13 new electric school buses in Glades County ,” said Dr . Beth Barfield , superintendent of Glades County School District . “ These state-of-the-art buses represent a significant advancement for our district , offering students a much more comfortable transportation experience in the extreme Florida heat . This milestone is a chance to bring our community together and recognize the teamwork and dedication that brought this project to life .” “ We are thrilled to supply Glades County School District with our industry-leading electric school buses ,” said Brad Beauchamp , EV product segment leader at Blue Bird Corporation . “ Moving forward , most Glades County students will enjoy clean and air-conditioned rides to and from school daily . We applaud the school district for investing in ‘ clean & cool ’ school buses putting student health and comfort first .” “ At Highland Electric Fleets , we ’ re proud to partner with Glades County Schools in bringing the benefits of electric buses to their students and community ,” said Duncan McIntyre , CEO of Highland Electric Fleets . “ This shift represents not just a technological upgrade , but an investment in student well-being . We are excited to help lead this transformation and deliver lasting value for both the district and its students .” GCSD received a grant of nearly $ 5 million through the U . S . Environmental Protection Agency ’ s ( EPA ) highly effective Clean School Bus Rebate Program to purchase its Blue Bird electric school bus fleet . This program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ( BIL ) which provides a total of $ 5 billion over five years for clean school bus transportation nationwide . The EPA has already awarded nearly $ 3 billion through the landmark bipartisan initiative . The program to date will enable more than 1,300 school districts nationwide to replace old diesel buses with nearly 9,000 electric and ultra-low emission vehicles . GCSD purchased its advanced electric vehicles through Florida Transportation Systems , Inc ., Blue Bird ’ s authorized school bus dealer in Tampa , Florida .
ChargePoint leads fights against industry-wide EV charger cable theft
with anti-vandalism solutions
ChargePoint , a provider of networked charging solutions for electric vehicles ( EVs ), announced in January two innovative new solutions to combat charger vandalism , featuring a new cut-resistant charging cable and ChargePoint ® Protect , an alarm system designed to increase charging station security . First , ChargePoint announced the charging industry ’ s first cutresistant charging cable , specifically designed to deter cable theft . ChargePoint leveraged its more than fifteen-year history of product innovation and charger design expertise to address the critical , industry-wide customer satisfaction issues related to charging cable theft and vandalism . ChargePoint ’ s cut-resistant charging cables deter theft and vandalism due to novel cut-resistant materials built into the cable , designed to make the cable substantially more difficult for would-be vandals to cut while remaining flexible and easy for drivers to comfortably maneuver while in use . ChargePoint intends to make its cut-resistant cables available for all of its commercial and fleet charging stations as well as to selectively license the cable design to other charging station manufacturers as part of an industry leading effort to combat cable theft and vandalism . ChargePoint believes the customers and partners that elect to use its cut-resistant cable design can make any charging station more resistant to tampering and therefore more dependable for all EV drivers . ChargePoint expects its cut-resistant cables to be available for license by the middle of 2025 . In addition , ChargePoint also announced the launch of ChargePoint Protect , a charger alarm system aimed at further increasing charging station security . ChargePoint Protect integrates a ChargePoint charger ’ s existing speakers , screens and lighting system to create a highly effective alarm system . ChargePoint Protect is capable of detecting charging cable tampering in real time and automatically engaging the alarm system with the aim of deterring vandals . ChargePoint Protect can be activated on select charging station models at no additional cost to existing ChargePoint customers through a cloud-based software system upgrade . ChargePoint Protect permits ChargePoint customers to receive SMS or email notifications in the event the system ’ s alarm is triggered , accelerating the timing for the station owners to be alerted or the deployment of law enforcement responses . ChargePoint expects ChargePoint Protect to be available beginning this month . “ ChargePoint Protect and our cut-resistant cables demonstrate our relentless dedication to offering a dependable charging network ,” said Rick Wilmer , CEO of ChargePoint . “ We do not view ourselves as victims of vandalism , but rather responsible for solving it , not only for our customers but for the industry . We are sharing the technology to combat vandalism in the most aggressive way possible with the aim to eliminate charger reliability as a hinderance to EV adoption .” ChargePoint expects these two new solutions , when combined , will benefit charging station owners by reducing station repair costs associated with vandalism and EV drivers by ensuring they can trust charging stations to work when and where they need them . For more information about the new products , please visit : www . chargepoint . com . To inquire about licensing the cut-resistant cable technology , please contact : techlicensing @ chargepoint . com .
12 | SCHOOL-BUSRIDE . COM | MARCH 2025