an effort to repower 10,000 buses over the next five years. If these companies succeed in converting all of these buses from diesel to electric, it would increase the number of electric school buses on the road today by a factor of 10.UES Vice President Mike Backman walked me through his company’s repower process. Before a repower can occur, a route and needs assessment must be conducted. All school bus manufacturers work with districts to see how far the route is and what its terrain is like.
The once-diesel bus becomes electric. The final step is quality control and safety check. These buses carry precious cargo and this task is of course crucial. After that, the bus is ready to go into action.Repowers take only a matter of weeks, which is substantially less than getting into line for a new electric bus, although current parts shortages plaguing the automotive industry are also affecting repowers.
Another concern with repowers is the longevity of the old chassis. If you’re converting a 5- to 12-year-old diesel bus into an electric bus, it may not make sense to have a new drivetrain that can outlast the old body and chassis.