Blue Bird has delivered 20 electric school buses to Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) in Florida.
The Vision electric units are the first zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles to operate in the district’s fleet of 1,000 Blue Bird buses, which transport 40,000 students daily.
This delivery thus represents a crucial step in the school district’s mission to transition to more sustainable modes of student transportation.
M-DCPS Superintendent Jose L. Dotres said:Miami-Dade County Public Schools is excited to put its first 20 electric, zero-emission school buses into service signalling that we put our student and community health first. We are looking forward to a successful pilot program and to building on our decades-long relationship with Blue Bird, the district’s student transportation provider of choice.
Each Blue Bird Vision electric school bus can carry 72 students for up to 120 miles on a single charge.
To recharge the vehicles, M-DCPS is collaborating with Florida Power & Light to install 50 DC fast charging stations. Ten of these charging stations will be operational at the school district’s Southwest Transportation Facility by September 2023.
Based on M-DCPS’ future charging infrastructure, the buses will take approximately six hours to recharge fully.
Britton Smith, president of Blue Bird Corporation said:This pilot programme is a wonderful first step in the electrification of Miami-Dade’s fleet and improving the air quality for its students and the community-at-large. As the leader in zero- and low-emission school buses, we could not be more pleased to help a long-term and highly valued customer transition to electric buses and clean student transportation. We greatly appreciate the trust Miami-Dade County Public Schools has placed in Blue Bird and are looking forward to growing our relationship for many years to come.
