Thurman’s and Judy’s sweet love story began in 1969 when Judy was teaching fifth grade at Suffield Elementary School. If you ask me to name someone who knows about true love, my answer would be Thurman and Judy Church. Their relationship was short-lived, and they never actually lived together. I suppose it is possible that it was true love, but Juliet was 13 and Romeo was likely 16 or so. When I asked a few people to name famous lovers, without fail, the top answer was Romeo and Juliet. With current state and federal grants, Minnesota schools plan to add 22 additional electric buses in the next few months.One never knows what Ohio weather will bring in February, but the month redeems itself by being the month to celebrate love. He wants to see costs come down and charging infrastructure expand. Morris Superintendent Shane Monson isn’t ready to commit to expanding the electric fleet for the western Minnesota community. I think people get nervous when they hear the word all, or ‘you have to.’” “I think that’s a really key factor especially when it comes to public support. “We will make that decision for ourselves and with our customers in mind,” said Martini. He has grants to buy another six electric buses but he opposes any mandate to switch to electric. Testing the electric bus technology at a time where the cost is subsidized just makes sense to Martini. The buses are pre-warmed while still plugged into the grid and stay warm running on battery power. The buses came with diesel powered auxiliary heaters to keep students warm, but Martini said they weren’t necessary and haven’t been used much. At below zero temperatures, the batteries lose 10-15 percent of capacity, said Martini. That hasn’t been the case based on experience from a couple of winters. There was a lot of pushback from residents unhappy about the use of electric buses.Ī common concern was that the buses would fail in a Minnesota winter. “One of the things that I think has been hard for us is, for whatever reason, its just become so highly political,” said Martini. The buses have been relatively trouble free and while charging infrastructure does limit how the buses are used, Martini said that’s less of an issue in the metro than it is in rural parts of the state. Martini said long term savings will depend on how long the bus batteries last. Regular maintenance costs less and takes less time with no oil changes or engine upkeep. “Right now we’re paying over $3 a gallon for diesel, and for electricity we’re paying about $1.05 or $1.10 per ‘gallon’ (equivalent),” said Martini. Three of the 400 buses in their fleet are electric. The companies transport students for several schools in the north metro, including Osseo, Mounds View and Anoka Hennepin. “One of the biggest things we know right up front is the fuel is cheaper,” said Nick Martini, senior vice president of operations for North Star Bus Lines and American Student Transportation. The electric buses also bring significant fuel savings over internal combustion engine buses. “But as the drivers get used to it and the students get used to it, many of them have said there’s definitely a decrease in the noise and not having the diesel exhaust smell is pretty great.” “Many of our pilot participants have said there’s been a bit of a learning curve with adjusting to the new technology,” she said. There are currently 10 electric school buses operating in Minnesota, according to Shapiro, and the MPCA is collecting data on eight of them. “So I think one of the biggest things is getting people on board with making a shift that’s going to be better for the environment and better for our kids.” “New technologies are hard to get used to and people don’t really like change,” said Sarah Shapiro, who manages the electric school bus grant program at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Charging infrastructure is limited, especially in rural communities. Electric school buses currently cost nearly four times as much as a diesel powered bus. The MPCA estimates each electric bus replacing a similar diesel vehicle cuts greenhouse gas emissions by about 140 tons over its lifespan.īut cost and charging infrastructure are identified as barriers. Going electric reduces air pollution from diesel fueled engines and lowers emissions of climate warming greenhouse gases.
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