The PBS television series “Kids Count” will feature the new eTrans all-electric, zero-emissions school bus on Wednesday night’s episode.
The hour-long segment profiles California school districts that are taking “creative” approaches to addressing childhood asthma, which the American Lung Association says is one of the leading cause of student illnesses and that results in more than 14 million lost school days each year. A partner of the American Lung Association is the U.S. EPA, which is currently seeking public comment on its draft State School Environmental Health Guidelines that includes recommendations for enacting school bus anti-idling laws, retrofitting current fleets of school buses with emissions control devices and purchasing newer, more fuel efficient and less-polluting buses.
“Kids Count” host Yahaira Garcia-Perea visits Kings Canyon Unified School District in Reedley, Calif., about 25 miles southeast of Fresno. The district is the first in the nation to operate the eTrans Type A that was first unveiled by Trans Tech Bus last fall at the NAPT Summit trade show in Cincinnati. Editor’s note: School Transportation News profiled the new school bus in the October 2011 magazine edition.
The episode is produced by Valley PBS and airs June 27 at 7 p.m. and July 1 at 10:30 a.m. only on local stations. But the episode can be viewed online after the original air date.
The 52-passenger eTrans is built on Smith Electric Vehicles’ Newton chassis and runs on a 120kw induction motor allowing it to reach speeds of up to 60 mph. Trip range of is approximately 120 miles per charge from its lithium-ion batteries depending on load and driving conditions. The bus takes six to eight hours to recharge with the ability to recharge virtually anywhere with its onboard recharging system.
