National Post Article-Green Power Motor Company-better DealNational Post Article Vancouver-based company leading the charge into heavy duty all-electric vehicles VANCOUVER Theres a nice coming-full-circle aspect to Fraser Atkinsons role as Chairman of GreenPower Motor Company. My grandfather was a conductor for BC Electric running the overhead cable electric trolleys, Atkinson says as we stand beside his Vancouver-based companys latest creation, an all-electric school bus. Dubbed the Synapse 72 for its seating capacity of 72 it is the worlds first purpose-built all-electric school bus. And its creating quite the buzz. Atkinson reports school boards in Southern California have raised their hands for 11 buses, and hes been doing the rounds in B.C. and Ontario to drum up interest and eventual business. Our strategy is to show people what is possible, and not just with school buses, he explains. But the school bus is kind of the thin edge of the wedge. The rest of that wedge includes all manner of all-electric people haulers, including airport shuttles,transitbuses, tourism-geared coaches and even double-deckers. On that latter note, a GreenPower double-decker was used all summer in a pilot project with Victoria-based sightseeing tour operator CVS Tours. The feedback on the bus itself has been fantastic, he says of the double-decker test run. We have had some charging issues, but thats why we do a pilot. Atkinson recently met with the City of Vancouver Sustainable Energy Group, a delegation that included councilor Adrian Carr, and took them for a ride in the Synapse 72. That bus features nine battery packs for a total of 160 kWh, which translates to a full-charge range in the 170-kilometre neighborhood. Thats complete overkill for a school bus that does a two-hour route in the morning and a two-hour route in the afternoon, notes Atkinson, adding thats why the bus can be configured with a battery system ranging from 100 to 200 kWh, translating to a range of 120 to 225 kilometres. What GreenPower has discovered in places like Ontario is that the larger school bus operators often put their busses on double duty for charter and shuttles (for sport teams, field trips etc.). That flexibility in the number of battery packs allows customers to get the range that best suits their needs. This particular bus is an 11-metre model. The company also builds a 9-metre school bus and a shuttle bus, where the body is different but the chassis is the same and seating can be tailored for use, including a 48-seat configuration with bucket seats. Components come from all over the world, with the final assembly at a Southern California facility. The battery cells come from the same manufacturer that power BMWs i-cars. Like all-electric passenger vehicles, the big selling point of the buses is operating cost savings. According to GreenPower, the typical diesel school bus gets around 59 litres/100km while their comparable EV bus gets 10.7 L/100km. Likewise, and as with passenger EVs, maintenance costs are less than traditional gas-powered buses. And as also is the case with EV passenger cars, in some North American jurisdictions government rebates are available. Atkinson cites that his companys US$400,000 shuttle bus qualifies for some $120,000 in rebates in California. And the monthly operating cost of about $4,000 for the EV shuttle compares to $8,000 for a comparable diesel shuttle, he adds. It seems inevitable, and fiscally sensible, that GreenPower school buses will soon be transporting that most precious cargo to and from classes, sporting events and performances. Which means, I suppose, a rewriting of that classic school bus song, The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round, as the line, The motor on the bus goes zoom, zoom, zoom will need amending.