Looking to be a role model for society, the eLion electric school bus from Lion Bus is quickly making headway in changing how school districts and the public view this form of alternative transportation.
Lion Bus, a school bus manufacturer founded in 2008, believes that the next step in student transportation is to “get away from the old standards,” said Marc Bédard, president and co-founder of the Canadian-based company.
Last week, the Québec Government Office welcomed Lion Bus to Washington D.C. Joined by representatives from the U.S. government, as well as regional decision-makers, the day was packed with discussions of the future of sustainability and cost-effective ways to bring green technology to American school districts.
Bédard showcased the eLion at the Embassy of Canada. He also spoke about the importance of global partnerships and how they shape policies and practices to ensure the health and safety of the next generation.
For now, he said that Lion Bus has a mission to take the electric bus mainstream. While the process to broaden the appeal of electric buses has been a challenge, it is achievable. However, to attain this objective, development must be started now since it is this sort of “long-term thinking that makes a difference.”
“Gasoline is not the investment for the next 50 years,” Bédard said, adding that in the next two years. a Type A electric bus will be released.
The eLion has a range of 100 miles on a single charge. In the next five years, with advances in battery life, Bédard foresees the range of electric buses hitting the 200-mile mark, and eventually, running for even longer on the road before powering up again.
According to Bédard, interest in the eLion is increasing with Lion Bus procuring orders from a number of school districts around California and Massachusetts, and potential orders reportedly going to other transportation departments around the country.
Currently, a few hundred eLions are in service, districts making purchases from dealers or directly from Lion Bus. As for down the road, Lion Bus expects that districts will seek help from government programs, such as the DERA program or the CARB program in California, as well as the Volkswagen settlement money, to increase their fleet of electric school buses.
“It’s a growing market across the country,” Bédard said. “The electric bus is the right technology for the future.”
