As New Yorkers learn more about electric vehicles and their struggles with cold temperatures this winter, some school officials have concerns about sustainability and safety, given that approximately 2 million children in the state ride buses daily during the school year, according to the New York State School Board Association.
Joel Diriwachter, an electric vehicle specialist and project manager at Romano Auto, says when a battery pack is cold, it can’t charge like it normally would, so education and planning are key with EVs.
“A lot of people don’t realize that … EVs, specifically, only want to charge to 80%,” Diriwachter said. “You could spend 30-40 minutes charging 0 to 80 and spend another hour getting from 80-100. It’s called a charge curve. So that gets kind of exaggerated with cold temperatures because it can [be] longer … when a battery pack [is] cold, it cannot take that voltage as high as it normally would, and that extends everything out, and that is why you see these long lines at these chargers.”
Diriwachter adds that level-two chargers would need 7-8 hours to fully charge a battery from zero. A DC fast charger would take 30 minutes to an hour. He says the advantages of electric include routes are planned; no more buying fuel; they’re very quiet; and it’s a nice riding vehicle.
The New York State School Board Association says their school districts want to be good and law-abiding citizens but say some need more time and allowances than others because of their budgets or their specific weather conditions. The state’s 2022 requirements note that all new buses sold in the state be zero-emission by 2027, with all school buses on the road running at zero-emissions by 2035.
“Perhaps some sort of battery range certification process to make sure manufacturers are using the same standards,” said NYSSBA Director of Governmental Relations Brian Fessler. “The same approaches to determine what that life is within the context of the needs for schools. A school can’t depend on transporting students on the assumption … you can travel this many miles. We’re pretty sure of it.”
The NYSSBA wants collaboration from the bus manufacturers and bus transportation supervisors. They want an informative process that could reveal that legislative or state law changes may need to be made.
NYSSBA members have made it clear they do not like the current zero emission bus requirement as is. Fessler says feasibility studies district by district on EV bus implementation should be step one in the process.
Diriwachter recommends pre-climatizing the buses so they have more charge than needed. The colder it is, he said, the more it draws on the battery. He recommends “battery conditioning” so the battery will be ready to take that charge, even during the coldest days.
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January 23, 2024 at 02:30AM
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