School official laments electric buses cost ‘5X more’ and are riddled with ‘performance issues’

washingtonexaminer.com ^ | May 29, 2023 | Heather Hamilton

[lowbridge]

One Michigan school official admitted his district’s move to using electric buses was less than the government has touted it to be.

Emile Lauzzana, the environmental sustainability director of Michigan’s fourth-largest school district, recently told the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education that the district’s electric bus fleet has had “a lot of downtime and performance issues.”

“It’s been a tough 2 1/2 years with this program,” Lauzzana said.

“We’ve been learning a lot about this technology,” Lauzzana also said. “Electric buses are approximately five times more expensive than regular buses, and the electrical infrastructure, which was originally estimated to be only about $50,000, give or take, for those four buses ended up being more like $200,000."

Lauzzana explained the district attempted to utilize "Vehicle to Grid" interconnection, which helps push energy back to the grid when buses are not being used, but that the “technology was not working.”

“I will say that I have a number of colleagues in different states who are facing similar challenges,” he added, noting the differences between electric cars versus buses. “For the school bus market, it’s been challenging for us.”

Ann Arbor Public Schools reportedly purchased its electric buses with a state grant that was funded by Michigan’s portion of a Volkswagen environmental settlement.

Last year, the Biden administration announced $17 million in grants to fund zero-emission electric school buses.

Despite the buses’ frustrating performance, Lauzzana affirmed Ann Arbor Public Schools would remain committed to the use of electric buses “as incentives became available.”

[moovova]

Ha ha ha ha ha

[dfwgator]

Democrats used to love the precious rainforests, but now have no problem destroying them and all of the endangered species of animal plants just to build EV batteries

Doo-doo-doo, za-da-do-do-wow!
There's a place called the rainforest that truly sucks ass
Let's knock it all down and get rid of it fast
You say "save the rainforest", but what do you know?
You've never been to the rainforest before!

Getting Gay with Kids is here
To tell you things you might not like to hear
You only fight these causes 'cos caring sells
All you activists can go ____ yourselves.

Someday if we work hard boys and girls..
There'll be no more rainforests left in the entire world

(world!) Getting Gay with Kids is here
To spread the word, and bring you cheer
Getting Gay with Kids is here
Let's knock down the rainforest, whaddaya say?
It's totally gay
It's totally gay!

[GOPJ]

And if they catch on fire - they burn for hours... days.

But the ONLY thing that matters is how do these electric buses make ‘the elites’ feel about themselves? And it makes them feel good.

So it doesn’t matter if the buses are reliable or dangerous of cost more to own and maintain... Not an issue. “Elites’ are saving Motha Earf...

[linMcHlp]

One week ago, I had a conversation with an EV enthusiast. I tried to explain, that there is a weight limit per square foot of tire print on pavement (given the pavement and road bed strength).

An 18 wheeler loaded with product, might be 81,000 lbs gross, loaded and limited by the road, to that weight.

If you include a 10,000 battery pack, that means the 18 wheeler with trailer (”load-carrier”: 31,000 lbs empty, 81,000 lbs loaded, 50,000 lbs product), will carry 10,000 lbs less of product.

That means, adding another truck to the road, for every 5 such load-carriers.

From the road perspective, the road is seeing additional tons of “battery footprints” with the transition to EV.

[wac3rd]

Looked him up...

Emile Lauzzana (He/Him)
Executive Director, Environmental Sustainability at Ann Arbor Public Schools

He’s a true Gorebull believer who by his tone, is seeing the light of the practical application of the zero carbon initiatives.

I would bet a million dollars that he still is convinced carbon emitted by humans is warming the planet.

Their faith in Al Gore and the imaginary government/crony festival of graft is insatiable and justified in the soft confines of Liberal, brainwashed minds.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Actually they are cheaper if you can get the cost of buying, maintaining, and operating them with outside grants and funding. However, if the outside funding ends you are in deep Adam Schiff.

[Lizavetta]

The e-bus manufacturers got their zillion dollar contracts by donating to the politicians who foisted this on us. Win-win. For them, not us.

That's how DC works. It's time everybody realized that.

[Newtoidaho]

Yes but in the freezing Michigan winters when these busses catch fire just think how much people will appreciate the extra heat.

[This I Wonder32460]

I’m guessing that someday in the future the vehicles now envisioned as pollution free will someday become the biggest source of pollution in the world.

[Chode]

do I really have to say it???

[clearcarbon]

"School official laments electric buses cost ‘5X more’ and are riddled with ‘performance issues’"

It's probably even worse when you allow this to happen.

[Sequoyah101]

I keep thinking of cabbage patch kids and pet rocks and solar hot water scams. I wonder why?

[BobL]

Why should anyone care if the electric buses work? Just show them off to media and then take out the diesels when no one is looking. Pretty much what people do with their EVs.

[mewzilla]

Related update from NYS...

State unveils electric school bus transition plan for all districts

[mo]

basically a scam..run by somebody’s brother-in-law...who leverages the school board.

time to start calling out this nonsense for what it is

[mewzilla]

Meanwhile, from NYS...

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/northtowns/its-a-heavy-lift-sweet-home-school-district-plans-to-electrify-bus-fleet

Check out the price tag.

And note that no district is suing the state over this.

[mewzilla]

Related, from Upstate NY...

'Slow down,' north country lawmakers say, when it comes to electric buses

BTW, note the bit about declining enrollment.

Wanna bet that figures into this Charlie foxtrot.

Money is fungible...

[mewzilla]

A $20 billion price tag for the EV school bus program.

Why do I think that a good bit of that money will be siphoned elsewhere...

[cgbg]

Here in the northern US we should designate January as Electric Vehicle Disaster Month.

I expect to see a lot of those bricks stuck by the side of the highway in the cold and snow if they ever get traction in these parts.

[mewzilla]

I’m starting to wonder if NYS’s EV school bus mandate is a money laundering scheme.