Most on-market electric school buses have a usable range up to approximately 100 miles. In comparison, our Saf-T-Liner^® C2 Jouley^® electric bus (powered by Proterra’s^® industry-leading EV battery technology) has a range up to 138 miles.

What Range Do You Need?

With proper route planning to optimize charging, most electric school buses can easily meet district range requirements. On average, a school bus travels 63 miles daily. With Jouley’s range up to 138 miles, many districts will find that they can run an EV school bus for an entire day or more before it must be charged. In addition, newer batteries with advanced technologies are currently being developed to provide extended range at a lower cost.

While electric school buses will also work for schools operating with staggered classroom starts, additional charging considerations may be needed. Often, schools with staggered start times may result in routes requiring mid-day charges, while a portion of routes permit electric buses to operate on a daily charge. If a school has the luxury of charging 8-10 hours between routes, low-powered charging is an option. However, there is a growing trend towards using school buses on multiple routes throughout the day, which has created the need to charge in less than 3.5 hours between routes, for which a fast-charge DC charger would be required.

What Affects School Bus Range?

Bus range can be affected by terrain, driving behavior, ambient temperatures and bus weight. To support a healthy range, avoid speeding, excessive idling, hard acceleration, hard braking and cornering. In addition, Jouley is designed with two modes to capture regenerative energy.  Normal driving mode returns energy to the batteries as the vehicle slows down or the driver applies the brakes.  A second mode, with higher braking resistance, can result in a higher energy recapture rate.  Capturing the kinetic energy of the bus moving forward is a way to extend range of the bus.

About Jouley

Built with the C2 body and chassis you love, our Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley checks all the electric boxes. Powered by Proterra, Jouley is configured with a two-speed transmission and 226 kWh of total energy capacity. Through DC fast-charging technology, Jouley charges in about three hours and can supply power back to the power grid using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

To learn more about Jouley, or if an electric school bus is right for your fleet, please contact one of our Electric Bus Authority consultants.