KTVO, MO
08-28-06
Hybrid buses come to Iowa
(SIGOURNEY) New fuel-and-electric school buses are coming to Iowa soon. Two Iowa school districts, Sigourney and Nevada, volunteered to be part of only 19 districts across the country to try a hybrid bus.
"Although the hybrid electric drive isn't really new, it's never been used in a school bus application before," said Dennis Kroeger with ISU's Center for Transportation Research.
Sigourney's hybrid bus should arrive in late spring. The outside will look like any other school bus, but under the hood is a V-8 diesel engine and electric drive trains that capture the energy of braking to recharge its own battery while the bus moves from stop to stop.
The bus is predicted to get 40 percent better mileage and cut the emissions of particular pollutants outside and inside the bus.
"So it's a safety issue as well because the new hybrid bus will lower the emissions, making the air even cleaner inside for the students," said Sigourney/Keota Superintendent, Todd Abrahamson.
But hybrid electric school buses aren't cheap. They cose around $200,000 per bus.
"The cost is an issue. The first production buses are quite expensive. As with most technologies, our hope is as more of them become available, that they come down," said Kroeger.
Nevada and Sigourney School Districts each agreed to pay $60,000 for the hybrid, which is close to the cost of a standard school bus. Grants will cover the rest.
Kroeger and other researchers from Iowa State University will evaluate the buses for performance, fuel efficiency and emissions.
"Our job is to make sure that these buses perform the way they are and that there's some benefits that can be realized," he said.
"With fuel prices now, any way we can save cost to the district is a plus," said Abrahamson.
-- Danielle Wagner, Reporting