Equipment News since a portal for accepting electronic submissions had not yet been established. Many voices in the industry were unhappy that it took the government this long to do something for private bus operators. Others are happy to see things finally moving along. However, applying for funding may not be easy since there will only be a four-week window after the portal opens to apply. Hence, it is suggested that bus operators work closely with one of the two national associations since they will have current information and be able to make suggestions. Here is the basic information available at this time. Applicants will be expected to register with www.ID.me identity service. If you want to apply for a grant, you should register. Once the CERTS grant portal is open, there will be a four-week deadline in submitting applications. The applications are not competitive but will be subject to uniform review. It has been suggested that applicants will be able to monitor progress once their application is submitted. It is expected that the Treasury will look for information from your tax documents to determine past revenues and employment. In particular, they will try to compare your operations in 2019 with 2020. You will be expected to submit a current USDOT registration number or the equivalent from a state. Expect to provide information on your fleet by vehicle type. They will want to know the number of motorcoaches you operate in your fleet to come up with a percentage or proportion for grant purposes. Once the grants are awarded, you will have one year to use the funds. While NATIONAL BUS TRADER will provide additional information when and if possible, it is strongly suggested that the timing for grant applications is critical and it is advised that readers get information from the national associations. Vice President Kamala Harris Visits Thomas Buses In time for Earth Week, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) celebrated several milestones on the road to electric including a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris to the Thomas Built Buses (TBB) production plant in High Point, North Carolina, the inauguration of Electric Island in Portland and the continuation of the Freightliner Electric Roadshow. Vice President Harris’ visit highlighted the usability and value of electric school buses. She met with John O’Leary, president and CEO, DTNA, as well as several TBB employees who outlined the benefits of electric buses and demonstrated the technology 8 • National Bus Trader / June, 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris (second from right) visited the Thomas Built Buses plant in High Point, North Carolina for Earth Week. Thomas has already delivered more than 50 battery-electric Jouley school buses. Operating without tail pipe emissions, the Jouley has an operating range of about 135 miles.
and ingenuity behind commercial electric vehicle manufacturing. “Welcoming Vice President Harris to Thomas Built Buses was an honor and a privilege,” said O’Leary. “It’s exciting to see our electric vehicles recognized by the administration, and to have her visit take place the same week we inaugurate the first public electric vehicle charging station specifically designed for commercial vehicles, and as we continued showcasing the all-electric Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 for customers with our innovative roadshow.” TBB’s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley runs tail-pipe emissions free, noise-pollution free and has a 135-mile operating range. With nearly 50 Jouleys already delivered, school districts across the country, from Alaska to Virginia, have already incorporated electric school buses in their daily operations. The same week and a day before Earth Day, Electric Island, the first-of-its-kind charging station specifically designed with medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in mind and open to the public, celebrated its grand opening. Available to electric commercial vehicles and passenger cars alike, the station is the first one aligned to the blueprint of the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative (WCCTCI). The grand opening event featured TBB’s Jouley, an electric city bus, and Freightliner’s eCascadia and eM2. NFI Celebrates Earth Day NFI Group Inc. (NFI or the Company), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, announced on April 22 that its elec-
tric vehicles (EVs) have collectively travelled more than 40 million zero-emission miles. Through this milestone, NFI EVs have prevented nearly 150,000 imperial tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from entering the environment – the equivalent of removing 23,000 cars from the road for one year. In addition, NFI announced that New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™, NFI’s full-suite infrastructure project management service, has now installed more than 200 EV chargers . “Today’s achievements are tomorrow’s gains. In reaching 40 million electric miles across NFI’s EV line up, we continue to decrease the carbon footprint of transportation while delivering clean, safe, quiet mobility powered by our advanced zero-emission technology,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFI. “Decades of strengthening our core competencies – including scalable customized manufacturing, lifetime service and support, technology innovation and workforce development – have led to these milestones and established NFI as a leader in the EV market.” NFI’s industry-leading EV offering includes the broadest range of vehicles: single- and double-deck, heavy-duty transit buses, motorcoaches and medium-duty buses. NFI has been manufacturing electric vehicles since 1969, and its current offering includes battery-electric and fuel-cell electric variants. NFI meets urban mobility demands through a unique four pillar approach, including: 1. Vehicles (buses and coaches); 2. Infrastructure;
