It’s not the first time the industry has heard rumors of a composite school bus that is engineered out of two or more contituent materials of signifantly different properties, a common one being carbon fiber. There are whispers that Paccar, as in the second largest truck manufacturer in the nation behind only Daimler, is more than just interested in entering into the race to market its own horse.
Technically, a composite yellow school bus already exists, but it is sitting in a parking lot located in Golden, Colo. Last fall in our August 2008 issue, we wrote about how the school bus of tomorrow might take shape, and Proterra was seemingly at the leading edge of developing a stand-alone composite school bus that stores a 50 to 70 mile charge and goes from zero to 30 mph in about five seconds. Its Zbus also spits out zero emissions and is the only bus recognized by the California Air Resources Boards, at least right now, as meeting that magical mark.
The good thing about the composite material is that it doesn’t corrode from excess water or road salt. And it’s ultra-durable. If the latest whispers are any indication,deal fell through with Blue Bird as the funding just wasn’t there. But at $300,000 a pop, it doesn’t even take this economy to see that its costs prohibitive.
Funding for the Proterra school bus has fallen through a couple of times as company founder Dale Hill thought the company was all but set to enter a partnership with a major school bus manufacturer, so Proterra has concentrated on the segment where it knows there is plenty of cash to go around: transit.
While Hill remains tight-lipped, he points to some movement back toward the school bus side of things by late winter or early spring 2010. And if the rumors about Paccar are true, it might be perfect timing. Will Paccar have its composite school bus onsite at the NAPT trade show in Louisville, Ky., as has been (again) rumored? There are other rumors that proposals are already being solicited.
