SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Lion Electric Co. announced today the very first deliveries of its all-electric school buses that are funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC), as part of the School Bus Replacement Program in California.
Lion delivered five zero-emission vehicles today to Twin Rivers Unified School District in Sacramento, officially giving the district the largest electric school bus fleet in the country. As of today, Twin Rivers operates 17 Lion electric school buses.
“Twin Rivers Unified School District is honored to be among the school districts receiving electric buses from the California Energy Commission’s first School Bus Replacement Program. It is an excellent day for our students and community, as we add these 10 new buses to our current fleet of 25 EV buses,” stated Twin Rivers Unified School District Director of Transportation, Timothy Shannon.
Five more vehicles will be heading to additional school districts all over California before year-end. In fact, Durham Unified School District and Baldwin Park Unified School District will be receiving electric buses this week.
Nancy I. Leon, Baldwin Park Unified School District senior executive assistant declared; “The Baldwin Park Unified School District is proudly taking the first steps to remove our carbon footprint by introducing electric school buses into our fleet for the first time, as we strive to provide a positive learning environment and teach students about environmental citizenship.”
As part of the School Bus Replacement Program, Lion was awarded five out of the six categories. Lion is “pleased to help the Energy Commission stay on schedule and budget with this important grant.”
The State of California leads the nation in zero-emission school bus deployments. These buses provide a healthy breathing environment for children and save districts money through reduced operating expenses.
About the Energy Commission’s Program
The Energy Commission School Bus Replacement Program is providing school districts with the opportunity to receive up to 10 clean air, zero-emission school buses, and have their charging infrastructure installed.
Participating school districts were selected based on disadvantaged community criteria and the fleet age. This program prevents diesel particulates from polluting the air and scraps older diesel school buses.
“School buses are by far the safest way for kids to get to school. But diesel-powered buses are not safe for their developing lungs, which are particularly vulnerable to harmful air pollution. Making the transition to emission-free, electric school buses provides children and their communities with cleaner air and numerous public health benefits,” said Energy Commissioner Patty Monahan. “The Energy Commission is proud to support this transition to protect the health of children throughout the state, and help all Californians breathe easier,” she added.
Nate Baguio, VP of sales, for Lion, said, “I would like to thank the California Energy Commission for their leadership in supporting children’s health and the important steps they’re taking towards cleaning the air in our communities. Lion looks forward to delivering many more buses across the state in support of the School Bus Replacement Program. We would also like to thank our new and returning customers for choosing Lion, our team, service, and zero-emission vehicles, and their commitment to a cleaner future for our children, communities and planet.”
About the Lion Electric Co.
Lion has deployed over 250 electric school buses, with more than 3 million miles of service, and leads the world’s largest deployment of zero-emission school buses in the U.S. Lion designs, engineers and manufactures all-electric buses and minibuses for the school, paratransit, and mass transit markets, as well as commercial urban electric trucks. Lion is a leader in transportation electrification in North America.
Lion designs and assembles all components for its vehicles: the chassis, battery units and bodies. Lion’s cutting-edge vehicles have unique features that are specially tailored to the daily needs of the individuals that use them. Transitioning to purpose-built, all-electric vehicles will lead to operational, economic and environmental benefits for the drivers, passengers and surrounding community. www.thelionelectric.com
