In late August, we had the opportunity to tour the Thomas School Bus factory in High Point where the company has now built two all electric school buses. Owned by Freightliner, a division of Daimler, Thomas has dubbed the prototype bus Jouley, borrowing from the word “joule” which is a derived unit of energy.

Diesel fueled school buses average 8 miles per gallon. Jouley uses 1.29 kilowatt hours (kWh) per mile. So for every gallon of fuel a regular school bus consumes, the electric equivalent would be 10.32 kWh. Using an electric rate of 11¢ per kWh the cost of traveling 8 miles would be $1.14.

The current range per charge is 120 miles. The electric motor’s peak horsepower is 315 and accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 45 seconds. Regenerative braking improves efficiency and the bus can be fully charged in less than 8 hours with a standard charger.

While visiting the factory we pointed out to Thomas that in 1917 Pamlico County launched the first motorized school bus service. Wouldn’t it be great for Tideland territory to make school bus history again?