POWER SAFETY
Powering Safely: What School Districts Need to Know About EV Bus Safety
By Bella Ma
In my role as an account manager for RIDE, I frequently work with school transportation teams who are new to EV technology and looking for answers about what it really means to operate batterypowered school buses. From my eight years at RIDE( where I’ ve worked in purchasing, supply chain, project management, and now sales), I’ ve gained an inside-out understanding of how these innovative vehicles are built, what makes them safe, and why RIDE’ s vertically integrated approach provides added confidence for districts making the transition. Transportation leaders accustomed to traditional diesel or propane buses exploring the transition to electric vehicles really like to hear about the features and benefits that set electric school buses apart from their less high-tech counterparts. Understanding as much as possible about my customers, their needs, and their drivers’ concerns, helps answer the questions they often have about electric school buses. The concerns are nearly universal:
• How far can they go on a charge?
• What level of service does RIDE provide?
• Why are they safer than other ESBs?
• When can I get one?
When these concerns come up, I always lead with education. Depending on battery size, driver training and road conditions, range of an electric school bus can vary. Generally speaking, our most robust school buses, the Type C Creator, equipped with a 282-kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate( LFP) Blade Battery, is capable of covering 170 miles on a single charge. RIDE’ s LFP batteries have been tested under extreme conditions and have proven their safety and reliability. In the United States, we’ ve delivered more than 1,000 battery-electric transit buses, and globally over 80,000. We’ re happy to share test reports and technical documentation to help customers feel confident about our safety and range claims. I often hear from agencies that have purchased competitors’ products and now want to retrofit them with RIDE’ s batteries. While we appreciate the confidence, we always politely decline.
SERVICE Another concern from districts is the possibility of the bus simply losing power and stopping without warning. In response, I walk
By Bella Ma, RIDE
customers through our battery management system and the backup protocols built into the bus design. But more than that, we offer dedicated training to make sure drivers are fully prepared to operate these school buses in real-world conditions. We provide on-site training both before and after delivery to help staff get comfortable with every aspect of the vehicle. RIDE has dedicated service hubs around the United States to provide technical and service support when needed. There is a reason why RIDE can assuredly say we offer the safest batteries. When it comes to electric safety, one of RIDE’ s most important differentiators is vertical integration. Unlike many OEMs that outsource batteries or rely on third-party propulsion systems, RIDE does it all in-house. BYD, our parent company, started as a battery manufacturer. We have spent more than 30 years in the battery business. That experience gives us full control over our supply chain and confidence in every component installed in our vehicles. For school bus— unlike from our competitors— we have our own battery source, and control of the supply chain.
PRIDE We also take pride in our rigorous quality control. Every RIDE vehicle undergoes a multi-stage inspection, some by our internal engineers and others by third-party auditors, before it leaves the plant. At every station, from assembly to testing, safety remains the guiding principle. In today’ s climate, where every incident involving an EV bus becomes a headline, trust and transparency matter more than ever. That is why we aim to provide open dialogue with our customers, walk them through every layer of our battery and vehicle safety systems, and ensure they are never left without support. Ordering ESBs from RIDE or a RIDE dealer can be a smooth process. Depending on what type of ESB you want, we typically can have your clean, quiet and innovative RIDE product delivered to you in 10 to 14 months after receiving an order. At RIDE, we don’ t just build electric buses. We build peace of mind, powered by safe, smart, and thoroughly tested energy systems designed specifically for school and transit environments.
Bella Ma is Account Manager for RIDE. Visit www. ride. co for more information.
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