Blue Bird just got its single largest electric school bus order yet

Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD) got the single largest order of electric school buses to date from the second largest public school system in the US. The Los Angeles Unified School District ordered 180 electric school buses, adding to the 26 Blue Bird electric school buses it already has in its fleet.

The unprecedented order will help the school district transition the first of several depots – the – to 100% electric by 2026. This school district says this latest electric school bus purchase is expected to save a yearly average of $10,000 per bus in maintenance and fuel costs compared to diesel school buses, for a total savings of $2 million annually.

Blue Bird will add 30 and 150 (pictured above) electric buses to Los Angeles’ school bus fleet. Both models use the Cummins PowerDrive 7000 powertrain system with a battery capacity of 196 kW and a range of up to 130 miles on a single charge. The LA school district expects the buses to take between three hours at Level 3 and eight hours at Level 2 to recharge fully using Sun Valley’s future charging infrastructure.

Blue Bird electric buses also come standard with vehicle to grid (V2G) capability, which will allow the school district to potentially sell excess energy stored in school bus batteries back to electric utilities at a profit. The V2G capability will also help balance the grid. Delivery of the first buses will be in October 2024, and the order is expected to be fulfilled in early 2025.

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