IKM-Manning CSD receives first electric school bus

 MANNING — Blue Bird Corporation, the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, and IKM-Manning Community School District displayed the school district’s first electric school bus this week during an open house. The school district chose to add an electric bus to its 15-school bus fleet because it wanted a cleaner, emission-free bus.“We’ve heard a lot of great things about the Blue Bird Vision Electric school bus. Reducing emissions was a big appeal and it also performs well in all types of weather, especially Iowa’s cold winters,” said Trevor Miller, superintendent of IKM-Manning CSD. “This Blue Bird bus will significantly improve the air quality for the students and communities in which it drives. We decided we were ready to try out the electric bus for ourselves, marking another way our district invests in our students and the community.”The Blue Bird Vision Electric bus was delivered in September and began service in November. The district uses the electric school bus for a rural area route of about 75 miles per day.An EPA grant funded IKM-Manning CSD’s new electric school bus. Blue Bird helped the district with its grant application. Currently, school districts can apply for the EPA’s Clean School Bus Rebate Program to receive funding for zero- and low-emission school buses.  “Zero-emission school buses mean cleaner air to breathe and healthier students. With more than 1,500 Blue Bird Electric school buses on North American roads today, Blue Bird is leading the shift to clean student transportation,” said Britton Smith, president at Blue Bird Corporation. “In addition to improved student health and air quality, IKM-Manning CSD will see cost savings with its new Blue Bird electric school bus. It won’t have to deal with costly maintenance associated with diesel buses.IKM-Manning CSD’s new electric school bus seats up to 77 passengers and has a range of up to 120 miles. It’s powered by an InCharge ICE-60, DC fast charger.