Before or after the arrest? He probably thought it was just fine before.

Lol, yep. And warranty coverage? That would be a negative sir. We did have people request them for field trips because they looked cool. Those were the shortest lived buses we have had. We bought them in 2007 I think. They were gone by last year or the year before. We retired the last of the units bought in 1993 about…

I don’t share your optimism. I feel the change occurred when transportation departments had to start replacing entire diesel motors at something like 20-25k a pop due to engine failures. Diesel was not living up to it’s reputation of the motors being bullet proof. Costs were much higher than anticipated.

Service doors, 20 some-odd windows that get abused daily, emergency exit hatches, AC compressors (provided you have that luxury), air compressors and other assorted air-brake components, hinges and latches. There would still be a ton of stuff to work on. Again, not saying we shouldn’t work on converting; just that…

I have not seen them. That sounds more like an option rather than a mandate to me. I could be wrong though. You can get all kinds of stuff if you want to spend money.

Too bad it was complete junk when they released it. Rampant electrical issues, failing leaf springs and huge blind spots for the Drivers. Looked cool though.

Cheers for you. The rest of us have to consider the financial realities of the huge up front costs of converting to an all EV school bus fleet. It would cost my school district $120 million to just switch out the fleet bus for bus. That doesn’t include the charging infrastructure, fleet equipment to service the buses a…

But it costs a ton of money up front to save money down the road. I am not saying we shouldn’t do it, just that the initial purchase price is steep.

Nothing lazy about it. People don’t like higher taxes. A new electric school bus is a couple hundred thousand dollars more to purchase than a gas or propane powered bus. You can show cost-per-mile savings on charts all day long but people pay attention when you are asking for $4-5 million dollars for ten buses vs $1…

Gas or propane buses get something like 3-5 miles per gallon “in town”. Diesels a bit better. The diesels are being phased out mostly due to maintenance and fuel costs. 

The seatbelt standards changed for new buses put into service in Jan 1, 2019 I think.

Because I recognize their mistakes before they do?

Not new, but yes.

As if lower income folks will be adversely affected by a gas tax hike but a fine with spending a ton more on a different vehicle in the hops of saving money.

Agreed. It doesn’t make sense to design a new mass market vehicle to sell 3-5k units a year.

The concept pics are of extended cab trucks. 

They will effectively say “No, you are!” and make faces at you if you point out their misinformation.

I like your friends approach. If I had the means I would have the same view on how to build my home. The Land Cruiser would be at the top of my list as well as far as every day vehicles.

Great read. I love these SR-71 stories, even the ones told weekly. Truly awe inspiring. Thank you.

Damnit. Have your star! I never thought of that.