GreenPower Motor Company Inc. announced the data results from the first round of its all-electric, zero- emissions school bus pilot project. The pilot, operated in conjunction with the state of West Virginia, is the first real-world testing of today's purpose-built, all-electric school bus technology. Cabell County Schools Superintendent Dr. Ryan Saxe with the GreenPower BEAST all-electric, purpose-built school bus. Joining him are Rhonda Smiley, President of the Cabell County Board of Education; Kim Cooper, Assistant Superintendent; Dan Gleason, Director of Transportation; GreenPower Vice President Mark Nestlen and GreenPower's dealer representative Steve Ellis.
For six weeks, three GreenPower Type D BEAST school buses were deployed on the daily routes in each of Cabell, Kanawha and Mercer counties. The buses traveled through differing terrain and weather conditions in both city and rural routes. Additionally, the BEAST was used in after school activities, transporting football teams and gear to the gridiron. The total distance covered during round 1 of the pilot was more than 5,400 miles, transporting hundreds of school kids on a daily basis without incident. The overall performance was excellent with battery consumption ranging from 1.1 to 1.5 miles per each percent of State of Charge. Round 2 of the pilot project is currently underway with a BEAST school bus operating in each of Grant, Monongalia and Ohio counties. The GreenPower all- electric, zero-emissions Type A school bus was added to the project at the beginning of round 2 with an ADA Nano BEAST operating in Clay County.