In June of 2021, Lion Electric hosted a series of electric school bus demos across the Commonwealth, showing off their product in a variety of geographies. This demonstration tour took the bus from Northern Virginia to the mountainous South West of the Commonwealth, before heading east to conclude their trip in Virginia’s Tidewater region.
During this demo series, the Lion team gave school transportation managers, decision-makers, and maintenance personnel the opportunity to experience an electric bus firsthand. The demo bus they showed was built on California specifications and unfortunately, Virginia does not allow the flashy blue bumpers, but the Lion team assured their audience that they can provide any specifications desired by the Commonwealth.
Lion Electric has a variety of electric school buses to offer including types A, C, and D. Here in Virginia, type C buses are the most commonly used and Lion can provide type C buses with ranges from 100 to 155 miles to serve a variety of geographies. Their vehicles also offer Level 2 and DC Fast charging options which provide school districts with added flexibility when planning their routes and fleet infrastructure.
A common question that was heard during the demos and is frequently asked of any bus provider is “how is maintenance handled?”. Lion handles maintenance in a way that allows school districts to maintain control of their vehicles while being provided with expert support. They personally train district maintenance staff on all low voltage maintenance and has a training program for drivers. When more complex or high-voltage maintenance is needed, Lion will send service technicians directly to the school districts so the districts do not have to worry about the bus being taken out of their hands. In Virginia, Lion has a maintenance team located in Richmond to support electric bus deployments across the Commonwealth.
Lion has over 400 electric school buses on the ground in North America today and is excited to bring more to the road. If you are interested in any of Lion Electric’s offerings please contact Sales Manager Maria Brown Maria.Brown@thelionelectric.com.