MAY 02

Okay, I am a big (BIG) fan of PHESBs: Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Buses. With all the (welcome) focus on PHECs (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Cars) like the Volt, Prius, and others, the real potential for some gamechanging through fleets of large fleets seem to be falling by the wayside. In fact, school buses offer some quite serious opportunities for breakthrough benefits and merit serious attention. Happily, we are seeing some serious news advancing the possibility of actually seizing these benefits.

Recent test results show that the IC Bus PHEBs, using hybrid-drive systems from Enova Systems, "can improve fuel efficiency by more than 70 percent compared to standard diesel-powered school buses." In addition to the fuel economy savings, other benefits include:

• Over 40% reduction in CO₂
• Over 30% reduction in Particulate Matter
• Over 20% reduction in NOx

Analysis suggests that aggressive deployment of PHESBs could save the equivalent of 1/2 day of projected US fuel use per year. While this isn't a silver bullet to solve the challenges of peak oil and global warming, it would be a nice piece to insert in the puzzle.

But the benefits are far more extensive. These buses would provide the potential for emergency power amid a disaster (man-made or otherwise) and mobile power for public events, and would reduce the impact of diesel fumes on children's health. (Combine PHESBing with "green diesel," and this health threat basically disappears.)

One of the key challenges to achieving these benefits is the price differential between PHESBs and the standard bus. Amid tight (tighter than normal) local budget environments, spending additional money upfront for future fuel savings and for "intangible" items like children's health is difficult. IC Bus took a step in the right direction with a $40k reduction in the price of the PHESBs. Now, there are 19 PHESBs out there in America. I have heard nothing other than rave reviews of them. Last I heard: an order of 100 PHESBs and IC Bus can drop the price to the point where the fuel saving will be compelling for school administrators' purchase decisions, even without considering the quite real (but less direct to the budget) benefits like reduced pollution and emergency power reserves.

Comments (6)

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Combination
written by Al, May 02, 2008

One of the factors any fleet should consider along with the PHESB would be the plate technology being demonstrated at the port (I can't remember which one) to help offset the cost of the charges.

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written by unregistered, May 03, 2008

The buses would also be an excellent summertime backup power source (and income for schools) meeting the demands during the peak times of power consumption in the summer.

I walk by school buses that are querying for pick up every weekday. The fumes are noxious and the noise is terrible.

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written by drivin98, May 03, 2008

What's wrong with using the commonly accepted acronym PHEV (Plug-in hybrid Electric Vehicle). You have something against the letter "v", don't you.

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RE the "V" ...
written by ASiegel 1, May 03, 2008

The overall, for me, is "PHEV" -- plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The "SB" / "C" / such is somewhat being playful but also being serious about a need to have understanding of different classes/differing opportunities.

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design
written by james, May 03, 2008

It looks like the school bus needs a new, more streamlined design as well. Driving a block of wood like that can't help. Keep it yellow though... ;D

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retro design and aerodynamics
written by curt, May 03, 2008

I like retro design and here is one very nice example. I like the color, but the shape is not environmentally friendly at all, because it is all but aerodynamically optimized.

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