The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round

One group of students in Matteson Illinois will be riding to school this year in a diesel hybrid school bus.

Keeping it green

At LotPro.com, all of us are in favor of cleaning up the environment, especially if that means building eco-friendly vehicles with the same performance standards (or better) than the ones they replace.

And while most of the press surrounding these vehicles has been directed towards the sexier models such as the Teslas, Fiskers and Volts, a number of manufacturers have been directing their energies towards the more, shall we say, utilitarian modes of transportation.

The gas on the bus goes “glug”, “glug”, “glug”

Beginning this school year, a group of students at Huth Junior High School in Matteson, Illinois, will be riding to classes in a diesel hybrid school bus. Built by Enova Systems and IC Corporation (a division of Navistar), the PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) is what’s known as a “charge-depleting” vehicle, meaning that it must be plugged into an electrical outlet (overnight or between routes) in order to recharge its battery bank.

The biggest advantage of the hybrid system is fuel economy. While your average diesel-powered school bus manages a paltry 6 mpg, the hybrid can more than double that – up to 13 mpg. The bus is operated by Kickert, a subsidiary of Cook-Illinois, the largest family-owned and operated school bus contractor in the U.S. (the balance of Cook’s fleet – 2,000 busses – runs on biodiesel fuel).

“School buses obviously start and stop constantly, and this is exactly what a hybrid system needs to stay efficient. We also think it is something that will save fuel and provide a better environment for the children we transport now and the children of the next generation,” explains Cook-Illinois COO John Benish, Jr.

Specifications

Bus: 2009 IC Bus CE Series

Engine: 200 hp MaxxForce 7 diesel

Transmission: Allison 2500 PTS

Hybrid System: Enova Plug In Hybrid System

•    80kW Electric Motor
•    Battery Care Unit (BCU) which monitors battery conditions
•    Dual lithium-ion battery packs containing 28 12-volt lithium-ion batteries in series
•    An isolated cooling system featuring its own radiator
•    A Control Electronics Unit (CEU), which contains the system’s electronics

Performance

The batteries weigh 1,680 pounds and are located on one side of the bus in a protective frame and are offset by 1,680 pounds of steel counterweights in a similar frame on the other side. Yet even with nearly 3,400 pounds of additional mass, the CE series outperforms a normal diesel school bus in the following areas:

Fuel Economy Improvement: Up to 65% improvement

Emissions Reduction: Up to 39% reduction

Images courtesy of IC Bus and Navistar

Tags: cook-illinois, enova systems, fisker, hybrid school bus, ic corporation, illinois hybrid school bus, kickert, navistar, phev, tesla, volt