First Charge, a trenchless system, makes it easier to electrify school buses and other fleets
CINCINNATI – First Student, the trusted school transportation and technology provider to 2.75 million families in North America, has created, an innovative new approach to electric vehicle charging that has numerous applications beyond student transportation. First Charge is an above-ground, trenchless charging infrastructure solution that enables a more efficient deployment of electric vehicles.
First Charge is designed to simplify the electrification process for all school districts, eliminating the need for time-intensive and cost-prohibitive trenching, even in cold weather climates. First Charge is also capable of supporting other last mile services for medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles such as dump trucks, garbage trucks and even postal/delivery vehicles.
First Charge can save districts up to 50% on construction costs. Its expansion-ready design allows districts to easily scale their infrastructure. The flexible design is especially helpful for districts that want to grow their electric school bus fleets over time. First Charge is optimized for each and every electric school bus deployment and will provide confidence to school administrators that their electric school buses will be ready to safely and reliably serve their students and families each school day.
“First Charge is a game changer in our industry because it allows school districts to focus critical resources on what matters most: educating students,” said John Kenning, First Student CEO. “For school districts who want to or need to electrify their bus fleets without spending years building infrastructure or constraining their capital budgets, this kind of modular approach is faster, more affordable and handles expansion better than existing systems. What makes us most proud of this system, however, is that it provides a better experience for students by putting more electric buses on the roads, creating a safer, more enjoyable ride that’s healthier for kids and better for the environment.”
First Student is the leader in school bus electrification with more than 360 electric school buses deployed in communities across the United States and Canada. The company fully understands what is required to operate electric school buses and its operational expertise is fundamental in each First Charge deployment.
First Charge can support up to 25 electric school buses per power management module. Most firms, hired by school districts to design a power distribution solution to promote effective electric school bus operations, choose to bury cable underground. Burying cables requires digging and trenching, which is an expensive approach that limits future expansion and is disruptive to residents, businesses, and operations. Once buried, the infrastructure can no longer be modified to accommodate changing lot requirements as a school district grows its electric school bus fleet.
“Over and over again, school districts tell us they have had to abandon rebates and funds available to them because charging infrastructure was too costly, complex or time intensive,” said Kevin Matthews, First Student Head of Electrification. “We designed First Charge to solve that problem. It is the first truly drop-and-go infrastructure solution. First Charge allows districts to spend their time and money on operations, student safety and other essential tasks while staying compliant with state or federal electrification mandates. It also rapidly advances electrification to take advantage of the health and safety benefits that electric school buses provide to students and communities.”
First Student pairs First Charge with a comprehensive energy management solution for customers called Charging as a Service (CaaS). The CaaS offering handles energy procurement, charge management, and fleet maintenance, allowing districts to focus on transportation operations while First Student’s First Services division manages the charging infrastructure. It is also offered on a monthly subscription basis. First Charge and CaaS removing the complexities of energy management, charge scheduling, and vehicle maintenance from the district’s workload.
About First Student
As the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide unmatched care and the safest ride to school to 5.5 million students every day. With a team of highly trained drivers, the company will complete 1 billion student trips during the 2024-25 school year. First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, fleet electrification, route optimization, and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services with a fleet of about 45,000 buses. For more information, visit firststudentinc.com .
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