2/1/23
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Jason Rutherford peered over an aging roster of buses while trying to figure out what to do next.
Alma’s director of transportation oversees 25 bus routes that ferry 1,400 students to and from schools.
But some of the older buses, particularly the early ‘90s Bluebird buses, were out of service. Parts for the older buses have become increasingly hard to come by.
So Rutherford reached for his laptop.
“When I came in, one of my priorities was updating our fleet,” Rutherford said. “About a third of our yellow fleet was aging and needed to be replaced. We looked at all the options, and immediately we went to regular diesel buses.”
Rutherford soon learned about the availability of electric buses.
“As I looked at options (available grants), I knew that a lot of money was being thrown at electric (buses) right now,” Rutherford said. “I knew if we ever went the electric route, we needed to go early because the grant money is available now.”
So Rutherford filled out the necessary paperwork.
“I began talking to superintendents and they gave me permission to go forward,” he said. “Originally, I went for an EPA grant, but didn’t qualify for it; our SES was too high. And then ADEQ (Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) had a grant, which was a very good grant, which would allow us to see what we were looking at, which was eight buses, so we went forward with it..”
The ADEQ grant came about as a result of the 2017 Volkswagen Clean Air Act Civil Settlement.
After filing the appropriate paperwork, Rutherford and Alma officials were notified late in 2022 that they would be receiving eight electric buses.
Alma assistant superintendent Travis Biggs said the No. 1 goal was to ensure the safety of the students.
“If these were not safe and proved safe for our students, we would not have pursued the grant,” Biggs said. “Free money or not, safety is our top priority.”
“It’s a big deal,” Rutherford said. “We’re already known for our green (coach) buses all across the state. There are a few other schools through the EPA grant that will have smaller amounts of buses; we’ll definitely have the largest fleet, which is good and bad because we are at the cutting edge of it.”
Rutherford said he hopes to have the buses in place by early August. As to what routes the buses will follow remains unanswered. “Our goal is to have them running by the first of the (2023-24) school year,” he said.
The buses can travel about 100 miles between charges, Rutherford said. They can travel up to 138 miles. “That’s not using the HVAC system,” Rutherford said. “Without the HVAC system, it limits it down to about 100 (miles) — and a lot of that depends on how the driver drives.”
These buses will come equipped with regenerative braking, Rutherford said.
“Rather than using your brakes, you’re using your regenerative braking that slows the vehicle down on its own,” Rutherford explained. “When you’re driving (the bus) and pull off the accelerator, your brake lights will come on and the bus will automatically start slowing down. As the drivers learn how to use it, they’ll get greater efficiency out of the battery.
“Our longest route is 89 miles, morning and evening, so we’re well within the miles.”
Charging stations will be set up in the front part of the bus lot, Rutherford said.
“Electricity should be run over the next three or four months,” he said. “We’ll be ordering units soon.”
A select number of other schools were awarded grants, too. Mountain Home will get five electric buses, Rutherford said.
Pulaski County (Little Rock) and Jacksonville will get LPG (propane-powered) buses.
There’s a hitch with electric buses; the other (diesel buses) don’t have air conditioning.
“I think once they get to drive them they will enjoy them (overall),” Rutherford said. “But they have an added feature our other buses don’t — they have air conditioning.”
Rutherford admits he and everyone associated with the new buses face challenges.
“We’ll make the first mistakes, and we’re willing to accept that,” he said. “We know that something’s not going to go right, but something’s not going to go right with the diesel buses, also.
“You just have to learn from it.”