Thomas Built Buses is the manufacturer of many of the yellow school buses that dot US roads—and an increasing number of them are electric.
The company on Tuesday launched its own second generation electric school bus. Called the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, it has many changes from the first generation model introduced in 2017.
Key among those changes eAxle from Acceleraa division of diesel engine manufacturer Cummins. Where the first generation Jouley had a driveshaft connecting the electric motor to the axle, the eAxle arrangement packs an engine, a 2-speed gearbox, disc brakes and wheel hubs, and a single unit rear differential.
This reduces weight and complexity, lowers maintenance costs by reducing the number of parts, and improves acceleration and torque by shortening the mechanical connections between the car and the wheels, claims Thomas Built.
Accelera e-Axle by Thomas Built electric school buses
The new school bus also takes i 800-volt electrical system from Proterra, well known for its electric buses. Thomas Built also made some changes to make maintenance easier, including a floor access panel for the high-voltage junction box, a part that previously required removing the bus battery packs for access. The heating loop surgical tank has also been moved to the left side of the bus for easy access.
Thomas Built it is already assembled 219 inch wheelbase version that can accommodate 60 passengers. Other wheelbase options will be available later this year, the company said, adding that eAxle's retractable driveshafts allow for shorter wheelbases, making for better mobility.
Electric school buses have come a long way since 2014, when the first one entered the US, with Oakland, California, boasting an all-electric fleet by August 2024. They have also received a major boost under the Biden Administration, which he donated billions of dollars in funding school districts to buy them, a policy that could be reversed by the anti-EV Trump Administration.