The Nest Podcast
The official podcast of the Jefferson R-VII School District.
The Nest Podcast
Jefferson R-VII - Ameren EV Bus Opportunity
I'm David Haug, Superintendent of the Jefferson R-7 School District and one of the projects that we've been working on with our Transportation Department. I'm joined by Amy Manns, our Transportation Director. Thanks for joining me.
Speaker 2:Good morning, lovely to be here.
Speaker 1:So last spring Amy and I were made aware of Ameren. Missouri notified us that they have a program to replace older, basically diesel and gas power buses with new EV technology, basically free of charge to the district, and it is very extensive of what they're covering here. So I'd say this was like late April, early May we started to have internal discussions of what this might look like and kind of where we're at right now. We spent the summer and we've had our board meetings to talk about us acquiring some EV buses to replace some of our older buses. What we started with, you were present, we had a board of education member and we also had three students that met with team members from Eastern Missouri Alliance for Clean Transportation, and then Ameren also met with us as well. And so the long story short and I'm going to start asking questions about the process here in a second is that Ameren has a program, along with Eastern Missouri Alliance for Clean Transportation, to replace older gas and diesel powered buses and it is 100% of the upfront cost. That includes the entire purchase of the bus and all the equipment. The powering equipment, the electricity, the charging stations are included in that cost as well, or that expense as well. So on the surface it is a tremendous deal for a school district to potentially get up, in our case up to four buses completely paid for, and I think it's important to remember here. Well, I'll talk about that here in a second.
Speaker 1:But EV buses do replace the older ones. We would have to pay to have probably two buses taken away. It's like $6,000 a piece. Other than that, the other two I think we could actually probably send their other way. So there'll be a little bit of cost to Air Force, but not in a sense of what it costs to replace a school bus. So some quick data.
Speaker 1:Last couple years we spent about $130,000 on a bus and about another $140,000 the last two years each year trying to keep our fleet up. We did that in preparation. Our bus fleet is actually in tremendous shape. We knew that with the Ameren plant closure that we maybe have to hold back on a year or two for purchasing a bus, so we did not intend to purchase a bus next year. We had to explore this opportunity because it could really help our district financially for the next couple years while the Ameren plant closes and until it comes back up online, when the district could time out pretty well actually. So the program itself aims to replace four to eight buses. Like I mentioned, there's no cost to the install. We are responsible for general maintenance, like what.
Speaker 2:Headlights, tires, a windshield if it got cracked, they don't require oil, they don't require oil filters. Our mechanic will have the opportunity to have a three-day training course on what she is allowed to touch and what she needs to stay away from, so that's a perfect opportunity there. And then all the drivers will be trained on these EV buses also.
Speaker 1:So part of that process is that there's a five-year commitment to using the EV buses and after that commitment, if it's not a fit for the district, you can switch out and go back to gas.
Speaker 2:Correct.
Speaker 1:There's a complete warranty. Now, when we say that there's things like not oil, well, there's no oil changes. But if a tire goes flat, we're responsible for those type of costs. But at the end of the day, for five years there's a complete, 100% warranty on the bus.
Speaker 2:Correct, and all the infrastructure also that will be being put in for them, and the infrastructure actually is even going to be built out to add two buses in the future. If we decided to continue with this but yes, in five years, they're completely ours. And if we want to continue with this but yes, in five years they're completely ours. And if we want to stay with EV buses, then we have that opportunity, and if we don't, then we can trade them in or sell them.
Speaker 1:So that's kind of what we're looking at here. As we've had the you know, obviously our CIS valuations dropped dramatically this year. We knew this Like there's no surprises at this point, and we had done our due diligence. However, if we can look at this process and upgrade our fleet over the next four to five years without having to purchase a bus, we really have to look at that, and so I do want to reiterate it as well Beyond the five years, there's still an eight to 10 year warranty on the battery and the motor correct, Like sort of like the powertrain Correct correct.
Speaker 2:So like the powertrain Correct, correct it has a Cummins powertrain and that still goes up to the 10 years, but the batteries they say they can go 9 to 10, but still we're working on that, finding that information out.
Speaker 1:So at the end of the day we also did some math too. We're just talking about the cost and savings part of this right now for the district. When you look at the analysis, if an EV bus were to replace a gas or diesel bus right now, my math says that conservatively if you just look at one route. So if you replaced a full route morning and pm, the district would save five thousand years, about five thousand dollars a year per that route, correct? So if you had two ev buses out running routes instead of regular buses, you're looking at ten grand in savings. So your gas and maintenance savings are coming down. I'm saving that conservatively because I took I did not, I did not break down what maintenance, projected maintenance calls, I just looked at gas. So I think there would be a greater savings per route.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna say 7,000, yeah if you went with the maintenance too, and all the upkeep, and that's also, you know, looking at the mechanic that's working on the bus.
Speaker 1:Yes, so we're looking at 5,000 potentially $5,000 a year per route per bus if we were to make that switch. Let's just talk about the information. I thought what was fascinating in the discussion, because I never really sat. To be honest, it really hadn't entered my mind to do this. When you look at the complete expense of the bus, it's not a great investment for us at this time. The fact it would be coming to our district at no cost is kind of a game changer when you start looking at all the other advantages here. One thing I found fascinating and again I'm not a huge car guy, but really they described it as you have the bus chassis, if you think of it like a skateboard, basically you have batteries and a motor.
Speaker 2:Correct.
Speaker 1:And one thing they started talking about is they go there's no transmission or anything. You know, I never thought about it. There's no gear shifting or anything. It's all out of the light, so I never thought about that part of it. No oil, no oil. This is where you become important, though, is that, as part of this process, they don't say come to this lot and pick out these buses. We actually work with the company a company to build the bus that fits our district, so kind of elaborate on that.
Speaker 2:So in building a bus out to fit our district, the things that I looked at of were you know our buses have AC now, so these buses will also come with AC. They will come up with backup heaters, so we've looked into that. But also one of the biggest things that's new and I was very excited about actually, our newest bus, bus 16, does have a front 360 camera, but all of these buses will come with a front 360 camera and a back 360 camera, along with the backup cameras which several of our buses do have our newer buses, but that was a great opportunity to have an entire view all the way around the bus, so all the danger zones are covered.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a huge deal. So before we transition into the safety discussion, I'm going to tie up this first part to say there's no upfront cost for the district to purchase the buses, Correct, there's a five-year commitment to the process. The expense also includes the charging stations and this is all the maintenance and everything required for that five-year period through this. Okay, so financially, this whole thing is a win. Now it's our comfort level with the buses that we're looking in. Your research has been outstanding. Let's talk about some of the safety features that go along with this. So you mentioned the cameras. So the front and backs of the buses now have multiple cameras that can help aid the driver for those blind spots that are around the bus.
Speaker 1:I thought what was fascinating too and that's all four buses, and again those are built to our specs. I want to reiterate that Again. We just don't go into a lot and say we'll take that one, that one. We have asked buses to be built to our specs, as we would with a gas or diesel bus. That's an option as well. To go in Same concept, what are the needs of the district? We had talked about passenger size as well, as we've looked at consolidating routes and what could potentially be out in our district for the short term and long term. Two of the recommendations are bigger, larger type buses Two will be transit buses which are 84 passengers.
Speaker 1:Right, and then the other two would be a little bit smaller, not tiny buses, but just a little bit fewer seats in them. That also meet the needs of our district. Am I correct in assuming?
Speaker 2:that One is a 77 passenger.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 2:And one is a 54 passenger.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So we get to build those out. But when they were talking about some of the parts of a electric motor was and I think about safety and I think about the transition time of a bus driver having to hit their brakes to keep the kids safe Explain when they pull their foot off the brake, what happened. Or, I'm sorry, their foot off the gas, what happens.
Speaker 2:So as and they kind of explained it to us like a bumper car. So when you press on it your power is there, but as soon as you release, it immediately starts slowing down. Also during that time is when it regenerates back into power, into the battery. But as soon as you pull your foot off of that pedal, the bus immediately starts braking. So that's also a great thing for backing up. If you were parallel parking, or as you're coming up on a bus stop, they immediately pull that off and it just starts trickling forward. So it's going to be a slower approach. So I think that's wonderful.
Speaker 1:So I think one of the difficult things in a podcast is talking about the amount of time we spent on all the things we're looking at here. But we want to reiterate as well is that our mechanic will receive training. Three days of training, yes, and then our bus drivers will receive training as well. Yes, you guys have been up to test drive the buses.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Had great experience with that. They felt like maybe the transition time for a bus driver going from a gas slash diesel to electric was just a couple days at max.
Speaker 2:At max.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there's a lot of wind there for you. Some other things as well. The bus would be quieter for the ride home and everything.
Speaker 2:Yes, not only is it quieter, outside which it will have a fake noise to sound like a diesel engine as it approaches children, so they're aware that the bus is coming, but on the inside it's quiet, there's nothing loud that's running. You're not listening. Like most transit buses, their engine is on the inside or in the very back of the bus, so you have that engine noise. You won't have any engine noise. So it actually makes it the driver is able to hear students better If they're calling out or asking a question or saying hey, it actually makes it the driver's able to hear students better, you know, if they're calling out or asking a question or saying, hey, you missed my stop, yeah, so it'll that and that is a safety feature being able to hear all the students on your bus.
Speaker 1:Absolutely it is. Again, I found it fascinating there was no transmission. Yeah, let's see the training and stuff. We kind of went over. The one thing, too, is that as it breaks, it does what I found fascinating because we talked about, well, there's hills out here, and they said, well, actually it's kind of a benefit with the breaking because you're actually not just Regenerating it back into the batteries At a higher rate than you would be on a flat surface.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I thought that was just kind of fascinating as well.
Speaker 1:And we have hills. So where we are as a district right now, we have worked with them. We aren't the only school district. This goes with school districts in this region. They do have sort of a tiered system. We are now sort of in their second tier. They've addressed tier one. They still have funds available.
Speaker 1:So the process works like this we work with the company, then the Ameren and the Eastern Missouri Alliance for Clean Transportation work together to evaluate simply our request and they simply say yes or no and then they pay for the project. There's really nothing more to it than that, and I would just tell you and be upfront that this is something we're going to pursue as a school district, that this is something we're going to pursue as a school district. There's a huge financial gain here, no question, but all of that's irrelevant if we didn't feel like this was a safe option for our kids and one thing we didn't talk about in prep for this. But right now we would intend to use this for runs around the district. We're not looking to put kids on a run to Cape Girardeau for a basketball or football game.
Speaker 2:These will not be a trip bus.
Speaker 1:Yes, so there's simply a transportation bus during the day, well within the mileage, as long as the buses are charged overnight or charged through the process, however, that works exactly. The mileage is well within our range because our average trip is 45 miles or something that's our highest bus route.
Speaker 2:miles, yes.
Speaker 1:Daily.
Speaker 2:Daily.
Speaker 1:Daily, not just one run, that's both runs combined, that's both runs combined. Yes, and these buses extend well beyond that 120.
Speaker 1:Yep. So we see this as a huge opportunity for us to save some money for the district. But, like I said, most importantly and where Mrs Manns does a tremendous job, it's so many different angles and so many different questions. It's truly impressive sitting in that meeting with her. All the different questions, in fact they know they go. You're very thorough and, and I can say with full disclosure, I was told by one of the regional trainers. They said you have a good one in your transportation director. It's not just me saying it, I've been told by many others. So we're very fortunate to have Mrs Manns.
Speaker 1:I assure you this is not done just based on the cost part of it. Safety is our paramount, but during this time, as the Emerson plant has closed and we've lost that assessed valuation, it's conceivable we don't buy a bus for the next four to five years and we can put those monies back to direct instruction, which is huge years, and we can put those monies back to direct instruction, which is a huge, and plus keep the age of our fleet pretty young as well, because we're in really good shape overall. We didn't need to buy a bus this year and possibly next year, but this is really a great opportunity for us from the finance side, but more importantly, I think it'd be a great opportunity for our kids and our staff, and I'm very convinced that they have put a lot of thought and effort into keeping these things safe.
Speaker 2:Me too, and I was very thoroughly impressed when myself and our mechanic went up and looked over the buses and they were very thorough with her. And also I'd like to say that it's a perfect time for the opportunity because the buses that we are going to be kind of trading in for them, there are sub buses.
Speaker 1:They aren't on the main routes anyway.
Speaker 2:Correct. They are used just whenever we absolutely have to use a backup bus. So since we have that right now in our fleet, it's the opportunity to be able to.
Speaker 1:Well, we're going to get younger.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:The fleet will get younger Not we, we're done, we're done, we're done but the bus fleet itself will get younger after this transaction and we can get rid of some of those older buses. I just think it's a great opportunity. It helps. You know, with the Amron plant closure and sort of this financial unknown, we're kind of in the teeth of it right now. We now have something that's known. We had something that was known with the expense of our when we switched to the outsourced our technology department we knew that was going to be over a five-year period.
Speaker 1:We know where we are with our buses for the next five years too, and that's a huge advantage for us. So a lot of decision and work went into this. This was not something we took very like oh great idea. A lot of work went into this. By the time you see this, most likely there'll be an on-site evaluation for the charging stations, but I also know too there's been a request on our end to start getting the buses approved. This would not happen overnight. This would be several months in process, but there's a chance they could all kind of show up at the same time, when it happens.
Speaker 1:Sometime next year, we might be a year away but we want to let you know what we've been talking about. We see it as a great opportunity for our district. Thank you, thank you.