Additional Resources

Hybrid Buses Join School Fleets

By Joy L. Woodson

South Carolina is among a handful of states participating in a hybrid school bus program aimed at reducing energy use and air pollution and improving fuel economy.

Richland 2 and Rock Hill 3 received the state’s first two hybrid diesel-electric school buses Thursday, part of the Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Bus Project, a nationwide initiative led by Raleigh-based Advanced Energy.

The hybrid buses can improve fuel economy by roughly 70 percent to 100 percent, depending on the bus route, according to Advanced Energy, and thus help offset rising fuel costs.

Here are a few other facts about the program:

What are hybrid plug-in buses?

The hybrid bus is powered by an 80-kilowatt electric motor and V-8 diesel engine. It also uses diesel fuel.

At lower speeds the electric motor is mostly engaged; at higher speeds, the diesel engine takes over. This dual system allows the charged electric battery to be used for about 40 miles, said Ewan Pritchard, hybrid program manager at Advanced Energy. Typically, the vehicle would be plugged in nightly to recharge. But the bus also can recover energy during braking. Click here to read the full story.