The Okanagan Skaha School District has acquired its first electric bus. The bus will be at the school district’s Summerland Yard. (Contributed)

Electric school bus acquired for Summerland

Okanagan Skaha School District to transition away from diesel buses

The Okanagan Skaha School District has acquired its first electric school bus.

The electric bus is the first in a plan to transition away from the diesel bus fleet of 18 vehicles.

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“The bus will be at our Summerland Yard. We are working with Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement to finalize the permit as a school bus, and have a charging station built,” said Doug Gorcak, director of facilities for the school district.”We anticipate it will be on the road doing a Summerland school route beginning next week.”

The school district received $205,544 from the Ministry of Education and $126,306 from Clean Energy B.C. to help offset some of the expenses. The total cost of the bus is $363,216 and the school district’s cost is $31,366.

At a full charge, the bus can cover around 220 kilometres and can regenerate power during a drive.

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