Thomas Built Buses manufacturers most of the yellow school buses that populate U.S. roads—and an increasing number of them are electric.
The company on Tuesday unveiled its second-generation electric school bus. Dubbed the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, it features a number of changes over the first-generation model that launched in 2017.
Key among those changes is an eAxle from Accelera, a division of diesel-engine manufacturer Cummins. Where the first-generation Jouley had a driveshaft connecting an electric motor to the axle, the eAxle arrangement packages the motor, a 2-speed gearbox, disc brakes and wheel hubs, and a rear differential in one unit.
This reduces weight and complexity, lowers maintenance costs by reducing the number of parts, and improves acceleration and torque by shortening the mechanical connection between the motor and wheels, Thomas Built claims.
Accelera eAxle for Thomas Built electric school buses
The new school bus also adopts an 800-volt electrical system from Proterra, primarily known for its electric transit buses. Thomas Built also made some changes to make maintenance easier, including a floor access panel for the high-voltage junction box, a component that previously required removing the bus’ battery packs to access. The body heating loop surge tank was also moved to the left side of the bus for easier access.
Thomas Built is already assembling a 219-inch wheelbase version that can accommodate up to 60 passengers. Other wheelbase options will be available later this year, the company said, adding that ditching driveshafts for the eAxle allows for shorter minimum wheelbases, improving maneuverability.
Electric school buses have come a long way since 2014, when the first one entered service in the U.S., with Oakland, California, boasting an all-electric fleet as of August 2024. They also got a big boost under the Biden Administration, which dedicated billions of dollars in funding for school districts to purchase them, a policy that could be reversed by the anti-EV Trump Administration.
