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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