BYD, a major manufacturer of transit buses, is introducing a battery-electric Type D school bus. According to the company, the new e-bus offers “unparalleled safety features and performance, wrapped in a sleek design that will have students wanting to step onboard.”

BYD’s Type D school bus will come in 35-, 38-, and 40-foot lengths, and will offer a range of up to 155 miles. It can seat up to 84, and can be equipped with an ADA-compliant liftgate.

The new e-bus will use BYD’s lithium iron phosphate battery, and BYD’s proprietary powertrain, which features dual in-wheel traction motors.

BYD says its school buses can cut fuel and maintenance costs by as much as 60% compared to diesel vehicles.

School buses offer an ideal use case for bidirectional charging. The ability to feed energy back to the grid during downtime offers an income opportunity that can offset the cost of converting a fleet to EVs. BYD’s new bus follows the current industry trend and offers bidirectional charging.

“We are raising the bar for design, innovation, range and quality, giving parents peace of mind knowing their children are benefitting from the safest school bus anywhere,” said Stella Li, President of BYD North America. “At the same time, our buses will give operators the performance and cost savings that will make migrating to zero-emission technology affordable and practical.”

BYD made safety the top priority in its school bus design, including such features as electronic stability control, a collision avoidance system, and a 360-degree monitoring system to detect pedestrians and cyclists. BYD buses can be equipped with IMMI’S Safeguard 3-point lap-shoulder belts, integrated child seats, and portable restraints.

“We believed the Type D electric bus needed to be appealing to kids while at the same time offer the upmost safety features and driver ergonomics, be equipped with a safe, high-performance battery, and have plenty of storage capacity for road trips,” said Samuel Kang, BYD’s Head of Total Technology Solutions. “The BYD Type D school bus achieves all those goals.”

Source: BYD