Initial contract phase with Highland Electric
Transportation to deploy 326 Thomas Built electric school buses
powered by Proterra
The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Education
approved a contract on Tuesday evening with Highland Electric
Transportation, a provider of turnkey electric fleet solutions, to
convert its school bus fleet to all-electric, starting with 326
school buses over the next four years. This project represents the
largest single procurement of electric school buses in North
America.
Montgomery County Public Schools operates more than 200 schools
and serves over 160,000 students county-wide. The MCPS Department
of Transportation is one of the largest in the country, with an
over 1,400 school bus fleet.
“I figured that at some point electric bus prices would fall
enough to make it affordable, but this deal makes it affordable
now” said Todd Watkins, Transportation Director for MCPS. Todd was
recently named Transportation Director of the year by Student
Transportation News, 2020.
“We are honored to partner with Montgomery County on this
innovative program. We believe this project is a great example of
the power of public-private partnerships as we seek to electrify
school bus fleets across the country,” said Duncan McIntyre, CEO of
Highland.
Under the agreement, Highland and its project partners,
including Thomas Built Buses, Proterra, and Annapolis-based
American Bus, will electrify all five of MCPS’ bus depots,
supplying the electric school buses and charging infrastructure
along with services including managed charging. Highland will
purchase buses manufactured in North Carolina by Thomas Built
Buses, which will be supplied and serviced by American Bus. Both
companies have been long-time trusted suppliers and partners for
the MCPS Department of Transportation. Designed, engineered, and
manufactured in the United States by Thomas Built Buses, the
all-electric Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley school bus is powered by
Proterra’s electric vehicle technology platform. The Jouley couples
226 kWh of total energy capacity with a Proterra Powered drivetrain
to offer an industry-leading operating range of up to 135 miles on
a single charge to meet the needs of school bus fleets.
The transition to electric school buses will deliver health and
climate benefits for the community. Converting the school bus fleet
will reduce carbon emissions by 25,000 tons per year while cutting
diesel pollution harmful to human health, contributing to both
Maryland and Montgomery County goals.
“Battery-electric technology is the future of student
transportation, and this is just the beginning of a transition to
zero-emissions school buses across the country,” said Caley
Edgerly, president and CEO, Thomas Built Buses. “We applaud the
Montgomery County Public School system for leading the way, and
thank Highland Electric Transportation and Proterra for their
partnership and collaboration.”
“Battery-electric school buses offer a safe, reliable mode of
transportation that reduces noise and air pollution, protecting
public health and the environment. That’s why innovative
communities like Montgomery County, Maryland are driving the
transition to clean, zero-emission pupil transportation for our
students and schools. Together with Thomas Built Buses and Highland
Electric Transportation, Proterra is proud to deliver the benefits
of our electric vehicle technology to Montgomery County and support
their historic commitment to electric school buses,” said Gareth
Joyce, President of Proterra Powered and Energy.
The project was awarded an $817,000 grant from Maryland Energy
Association (MEA), which helps offset the purchase cost of vehicles
that is critical at this early stage of mass deployment. This is
the type of project that the MEA Clean Fuels Incentive Program was
intended to support, collaboration between the public and private
sector to build a scalable fleet electrification market in the
state.
In addition, the electric buses will lend their batteries to
deliver stored electricity to the local electricity markets,
interconnected through Pepco, which helps the community integrate
renewable energy and support grid resiliency. Highland takes on the
obligation of internalizing these values, which shift the cost of
ownership for the electrified fleets, helping to deliver budget
neutrality to MCPS.
“This is the first step toward meeting President Biden’s pledge
to electrify all 500,000 school buses across the nation over the
next decade,” said Nat Kreamer, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy, a
national business group. “These school buses do double duty,
providing pollution-free transportation for schoolchildren and grid
services that benefit all electric customers, while also being
available as mobile backup for communities affected by power
outages.”
About Highland Electric Transportation
Highland Electric Transportation provides turnkey solutions for
school bus and other municipal and government fleet
electrification. By bundling electric vehicles, charging equipment,
financing, and services, Highland partners with customers to
deliver scalable fleet electrification projects, within existing
budgets. The company is based in Hamilton, MA
www.highlandet.com
About Proterra
Proterra is a leader in the design and manufacture of
zero-emission electric transit vehicles and EV technology solutions
for commercial applications. With industry-leading durability and
energy efficiency based on rigorous U.S. independent testing,
Proterra products are proudly designed, engineered and manufactured
in America, with offices in Silicon Valley, South Carolina, and Los
Angeles. For more information, visit: http://www.proterra.com and
follow us on Twitter @Proterra_Inc.
Proterra recently entered into a merger agreement with ArcLight
Clean Transition Corp. (Nasdaq: ACTCU, ACTC and ACTW), a special
purpose acquisition company. For more information, see
https://arclightclean.com/.
About Thomas Built Buses
Founded in 1916, Thomas Built Buses is a leading manufacturer of
school buses in North America. Since the first Thomas Built bus
rolled off the assembly line, the company has been committed to
delivering the smartest and most innovative buses in North America.
Learn more at https://thomasbuiltbuses.com. Thomas Built Buses,
Inc., headquartered in High Point, N.C., is a subsidiary of Daimler
Trucks North America LLC, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer
in North America and a leading manufacturer of class 4-8 vehicles.
Daimler Trucks North America produces and markets commercial
vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built
Buses nameplates. Daimler Trucks North America is a Daimler
company.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210225005412/en/
Highland Electric Transportation: Duncan McIntyre Chief
Executive Officer media@highlandet.com
Proterra: Shane Levy Proterra Corporate Communications
PR@proterra.com
Thomas Built Buses: Mario DiFoggio Marketing and
Communications mario.difoggio@daimler.com
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