Winthrop officials meet with federal government over defective electric school buses

Problems persist with electric buses acquired under the federal Clean School Bus Program. Buses that were ordered off the road due to safety issues earlier this year returned this week from the manufacturer. The buses failed to pass inspection and were deemed unsafe to drive. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal, file

WINTHROP — Department heads for Winthrop Public Schools will meet this week with federal education officials to figure out how to move forward with the district’s four grant-funded electric school buses, which failed inspections again this week and were deemed undriveable.

The four electric buses supplied by Quebec-based Lion Electric had problems, first reported in December. Transportation Director Josh Wheeler said the final straw came in February, when mechanical problems forced him to drive into a snowbank to stop a bus.

The buses were returned to the company shortly after this incident, and Wheeler later received word that they had been repaired. But when they were returned to Winthrop last week, a Maine State Police inspection unit found problems with emergency exits and the heating system that made the buses undriveable.

Wheeler and Winthrop Public Schools Superintendent Jim Hodgkin will meet with officials in charge of the federal Clean School Bus Program, which awarded the grant to get the buses, along with a representative from the Department of Education, to figure out how to move forward.

“I think it’s frustrating. They were gone for three months and went through a fine-tooth comb and failed,” Hodgkin told the Kennebec Journal. “They (Lion Electric Co.) were quick to respond. When they heard the buses broke down, they had a limited number of technicians, but they’ll send one out this week or next to check with Wheeler and the state police about what happened.

Wheeler updated the Winthrop School Board at Wednesday’s meeting. He noted that the inspectors from the Maine State Police, which routinely inspects school buses, were new to the situation and had not conducted the previous two inspections.

Inspectors found that all four buses — all 2023 models ranging in mileage from 532 to 29,053 — had problems with emergency doors that either did not close or were difficult to open. Diesel heater in two buses did not work; A seat belt cutter was missing from one of the buses; On one bus, the engine simply would not start. In addition, the two cannot be connected to charging stations.

Patrick Gervais, Lion Electric’s vice president of trucking and public affairs, told the Kennebec Journal that some damage was caused to electric buses on flatbed vehicles, but the company plans to take steps to inspect. And fix it.

“During transportation, some damage occurred, but nothing affected any critical systems,” Gervais said. “A few minor items had to be addressed by our service teams, which is unusual when heavy vehicles are shipped flatbed. All items reported have been addressed, with the exception of damage to the heating system on one vehicle that occurred during transport.” , which will be addressed soon.

Winthrop Public Schools did not pay for the four electric school buses, but were selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to participate in the Clean School Bus Program. For every electric school bus the district received for free, it was replaced with a diesel bus.

School Board President Alicia Lawson asked at Wednesday’s meeting if other schools were facing the same issues as Winthrop. Wheeler said the Yarmouth School District is still having issues with the two electric buses, which had leaky windshields when they were first delivered.

Wheeler also stated that he had read articles regarding Lion Electric’s financial difficulties, including laying off 100 workers amid a $100 million loss, as reported in the Financial Post.

Yarmouth Transportation Director Chris Storer said the school administration used the electric school buses for just a week last year and three weeks this year before returning them to the company for repairs. Both 2023 Yarmouth models have less than 3,000 miles; Diesel buses are driven approximately 10,000 miles to transport students in an average school year.

“We’ve had heaters fail, compressors explode, serious battery failure, and deteriorating power levels,” Storer said. “The latest is the high temperature that causes the buses to lose power.”

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