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Blue Bird delivers its 2,000th electric school bus
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Blue Bird delivers its 2,000th electric school bus

MACON, Ga. – Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric, low-emission school buses, has delivered its 2,000th electric, zero-emission school bus, marking an industry milestone. Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada took delivery of Blue Bird’s 2,000th electric vehicle (EV) to help the nation’s fifth-largest school district transition its school bus fleet to clean student transportation.

CCSD operates 373 schools with over 300,000 students. The district maintains a bus fleet of over 1,900 vehicles. CCSD transports over 123,000 students each school day on over 1,400 bus routes.

Blue Bird delivered its most advanced All-American electric school bus to CCSD. With Blue Bird’s new, extended battery, CCSD’s milestone zero-emission vehicle can transport 84 students. Depending on charging infrastructure, the bus takes three to eight hours to fully charge.

CCSD received a $9.875 million grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Program to purchase electric school buses, including Blue Bird’s zero-emission milestone unit. This program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which provides a total of $5 billion over five years for clean school bus transportation across the country.

“Today, we delivered our 2,000th electric, zero-emission school bus in North America. We are excited to celebrate this significant industry milestone with Clark County School District. Blue Bird is recognized as the undisputed leader in clean school transportation. Electric school buses provide cleaner air to breathe for students, drivers and the community as a whole,” said Britton Smith, President of Blue Bird Corporation. “Local, state and federal funding for clean school buses continues to be at an all-time high. Most importantly, we applaud the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program for accelerating the adoption of zero-emission school transportation nationwide and helping to usher in an unprecedented era of technological innovation.”

CCSD’s landmark unit is now one of more than 2,000 Blue Bird electric school buses serving school districts in 41 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. By replacing 2,000 polluting diesel-powered school buses with an equal number of zero-emission vehicles, harmful carbon emissions will be reduced by more than 21,000 metric tons annually. Additionally, nearly 150,000 students a day will no longer be exposed to diesel exhaust linked to serious health conditions such as asthma and heart disease.

Blue Bird’s electric school buses have traveled more than five million miles. That’s the same distance you would travel if you drove the legendary Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles more than 2,000 times.

Blue Bird continues to significantly expand its electric school bus production in Fort Valley, Georgia. In 2023, the company will open a 40,000-square-foot Electric Vehicle (EV) Build-up Center. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently selected Blue Bird to receive an $80 million grant to convert a former diesel motorhome manufacturing site into a 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art electric vehicle manufacturing facility. The continued investments will enable the company to increase its long-term production capacity to more than 5,000 electric school buses per year.

Blue Bird’s zero-emission school buses are powered by Accelera by Cummins’ PowerDrive 7000 electric system, the result of their longstanding partnership in technological innovation that has been instrumental in providing sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation solutions to school districts across the country.

Clark County School District purchased its advanced electric vehicle through Blue Bird’s authorized school bus dealer Bryson Sales & Service Inc., a Utah-based family-owned business founded in 1969.

About Blue Bird Corporation

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator in school buses since our founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability and durability. School buses carry the world’s most precious cargo—25 million children twice a day—making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas and electric buses currently in service. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s full portfolio of products and services, visit www.blue-bird.com.

About Clark County School District

Founded in 1956, Clark County School District (CCSD) is the number one choice for families and students. As the nation’s fifth largest school district, we educate 300,000 students and offer a variety of nationally recognized programs, including Magnet Schools, Career and Technical Academies, and Advanced Placement programs. CCSD educates 64 percent of Nevada’s students and works closely with community partners and business leaders to prepare students to compete in a global economy. For more information, visit https://ccsd.net.