Blue Bird electric buses go to Arkansas school district

Electric and low-emission school bus provider Blue Bird Corporation is delivering 25 electric school buses to Little Rock School District (LRSD) in the south-central U.S. state of Arkansas.

The 25 Blue Bird Vision electric school buses in the LRSD fleet will together travel nearly 1,400 miles each school day. (Photo: Blue Bird)

Blue Bird is providing LRSD with Vision electric school buses, which incorporate a Cummins PowerDrive 7000 propulsion system, a TM4 Sumo motor and a large standard battery pack with a 194-kWh battery capacity that enables DC fast charging in just two hours. The buses have a vehicle range of up to 130 miles on a single charge and can carry up to 69 passengers.

LRSD is the third-largest school district in Arkansas and operates more than 40 schools serving over 19,000 students. It received a $9,875,000 grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program to purchase its Blue Bird electric school bus fleet.

LRSD purchased its advanced electric-powered vehicles through Blue Bird’s authorized school bus dealer Central States Bus Sales in North Little Rock, Ark. Following completion of the electric school bus order, LRSD will maintain a bus fleet of approximately 70 vehicles, with the electric buses traveling nearly 1,400 miles in total each school day to transport 500 students to and from schools.

“We are pleased that Little Rock School District continues to place its trust in Blue Bird to help the school district shift to clean student transportation,” said Albert Burleigh, vice president of North America bus sales at Blue Bird Corporation. “For more than 25 years, the school district has relied on Blue Bird and our local dealer partner to meet its school bus and service needs. We look forward to helping LRSD expand its school bus fleet with safe, reliable and environmentally friendly vehicles.”