Granton District Administrator Answers FAQ's on District's New Electric Buses

Friday, March 8th, 2024 -- 12:01 PM

Now that the Granton School District’s electric buses are here, there have been some questions that have come up and Granton District Administrator Nancy Popp would like to respond with accurate information.

First, the Granton School District HAS INSURANCE on the new electric buses. Their current company put full coverage on the new buses on January 30, 2024, when they were delivered to the school.

Second, the buses arrived on flatbed semi-trucks, just like all vehicles arrive on trucks, so that the State Troopers could do the final inspection. This process is very similar to how all new vehicles are prepped before the buyer takes it off the lot.

They just had the prep done onsite rather than on a dealer’s lot. Once they passed inspection, they were then able to send the paperwork into the state for the new license plates, which have been installed.

Third, when the buses arrived, they were fully charged and the District’s chargers are fully operational, so they can maintain the proper charge.

Fourth, they do have to surrender 1 diesel bus for every electric bus that they have, however, the district will keep the 2 newest diesel buses.

Fifth, no new bus garage will be built. The current bus garage, located behind the school, has been retrofitted with 3 chargers and 2 more have been added to the north side of the bus garage.

All the chargers will work as they are, they do not need to be in a temperature-controlled building. The chargers were part of the grant, so there was no additional cost for those. They are also quite sophisticated because they “talk” with the buses to maintain optimum charge and power usage.

Sixth, Granton’s Transportation Director has been trained in electric bus operation and is in the process of training their drivers as well as the Granton, Chili, and Neillsville First Responders for possible emergency situations they may encounter. Recently, one of the drivers took students and parents on tours on one of the new buses.

Seventh, the buses are equipped with some great safety features. They are very quiet, making it much easier for the drivers to hear what is happening on their routes. Also, the buses are equipped with an updated camera system with 6 cameras in the buses and one on both the front and back which will capture pictures of anyone who goes around a bus illegally when they are stopped.

There is also a system inside of the bus so that the drivers know if all the outside lights are working. If there are other questions that you have about Granton’s new electric buses, please feel free to contact Nancy Popp and she will be happy to answer them for you.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.