GreenPower Motor Company Inc. a leading manufacturer and distributor of purpose-built, all-electric, zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles serving the cargo and delivery market, shuttle and transit space and school bus sector headquartered in B.C., announced it will deliver five Type D BEAST all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses to two school districts in California this week.

“Delivery of our all-electric Type D BEAST school buses in California shows the continued preference for GreenPower’s purpose-built product in the marketplace,” said Paul Start, GreenPower Vice President of Sales, School Bus Group. 

“GreenPower remains the only OEM to manufacture both a Class 4 purpose-built Type A all-electric school bus in its Nano BEAST and a Type D all-electric, purpose-built school bus in its BEAST. This product combination allows school districts to meet its student transportation needs, all while taking full advantage of state incentives and programs.”

Health and safety benefits

Of the five BEASTs to be delivered this week, four will go to the Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District and the fifth to the Terra Bella Union Elementary School District. “We are pleased that these school districts see the great health and safety benefits provided by GreenPower’s all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses in meeting the transportation needs of their students,” Start continued. “As with other school districts in California and across the nation, these schools have a mission of providing safe and efficient transportation to their students. GreenPower’s all-electric school buses provide that safe, sustainable and sensible transportation option that gets kids to and from school in a healthy environment prepared to learn.”

In addition to this week’s deliveries, in the next few weeks GreenPower plans to deliver up to four more Type D BEAST all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses to California schools, and two BEASTs to schools in Oregon, with up to an additional 20 school buses expected to be delivered in California over the next 90 to 120 days.

GreenPower’s BEAST is a purpose-built 40-foot Type D all-electric, zero-emission school bus with seating for up to 90 students. Designed from the ground up, it is a unified structure that features a seamlessly integrated aluminum body made from extruded aluminum manufactured by Constellium on a high strength steel Truss (bus) chassis. The complete flat floor design allows for tracking with no obstacles, and the high floors keep students out of the crash zone. Dual port charging is standard with Level 2 rates up to 19.2 kW and DC Fast Charging rates up to 85 kW. Wireless charging is also available as an option.