Blue Bird All American Electric School Bus Qualifies for California HVIP Funding

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently announced that the Blue Bird All American RE bus qualifies for their HVIP Incentive program. This program is intended to encourage and accelerate the deployment of Zero-Emission trucks and buses.

The program awards up to $95,000 per bus plus an additional $15,000 for vehicles located in disadvantaged communities and $10,000 for the first three (3) vouchers in any fleet for a total of $120,000. The program currently has over $19 million in funding for this fiscal year, with $32.6 million added this month, which more than covers all existing requests with additional funds coming in early 2018.

According to the California HVIP website, vehicle dealers and distributors who are eligible for the program work directly on the buyer’s behalf to reduce the initial cost of the vehicles they wish to purchase.

“School districts, as well as school bus Contractor fleets, will see a huge benefit from this program,” said John Landherr, president of A-Z Bus Sales in California. “As the authorized Blue Bird dealer for California, we apply for the funding on the buyer’s behalf, making the process seamless.”

The Blue Bird All American Electric RE integrates an ADOMANI/EDI drivetrain and vehicle control software and telematics, delivering zero-emissions driving with outstanding vehicle performance and torque. The all-electric drivetrain system changes the 150kwh battery system in under 8 hours using a Level 2 charger while providing up to a 100 mile range.

“As the only manufacturer with a Type D Electric school bus in the market, we are thrilled to qualify for the California HVIP program,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The exclusive drivetrain offered on these buses is a proven technology, with over 2.5 million miles of driving in multiple applications. We are confident that customers will enjoy this new bus, all while producing zero emissions!”

Blue Bird unveiled the All American Electric RE bus and Micro Bird G5 Electric bus at the STN tradeshow in July 2017, as well as the Vision Electric Type C bus at the NAPT tradeshow in November of 2017. All of these buses will start production in 2018. For those interested in learning more, please contact A-Z Bus Sales for more information by visiting their website at http://www.a-zbus.com.