Harris checks out electric school buses in NC

Okay

Hello again

So I'd like to introduce you to my Children with

the manager over our powertrain area

He will be going over our collective bus

Doing okay looks like you're reaching

Yeah

Good afternoon Vice President

I'm excited to share with you on behalf of the

employees from thomas built buses and under custom chest introduce

you to our electric school body

So we've been on a journey for the last 2.5

years to bring this product to market and it's been

a bit of a journey where when we first started

we really kind of create a way in which we

could uh create a excitement about the bus for our

customers our community and our employees

And we did that by starting a contest within our

company to kind of name it

And so after a few months and two ideas around

how to name this bus julie was the winner I

guess you can say

And it's a play off of the name jewel which

is a measure of energy

So so we've developed this bus with Pro Terra

So criterion Turk our is our partner with this particular

vehicle

We have to uh battery pack from pro terra

There are 226 kW underneath the vehicle here in the

middle

Um if they're underneath the middle part right here We

can get up to 138 miles of range out of

the vehicles with 226-1 takes roughly right around three One

hours 3.2 hours to charge on a 60 kilowatt charger

Charge the deal

So we're very excited about

And how long then in the normal course of the

day how long was that left It'll last depending on

routes

So schools have different types of routes

So the routes can be in the morning so some

customers can get a full day depending on how they

route

Some school districts have to stack their routes so they

might have 212 or three routes in the morning

So the D

C

Charge is really important for them because they have to

come back to the yard to so you don't have

charges at the schools yet

Not yet

We've been working with our customers as part of the

deployment

We created a team called the Electric Bus Authority and

that team really kind of helped electric plus authorities

Yeah let's go there

There you are

Okay so we created because it was a real it's

a real lift

Yeah customers

Yeah transition to the electric vehicle and lots of questions

and lots of consultants

Yeah so we we created that help them go to

um can you figure out how they're going to electrify

the fleet So then what about maintenance of the buses

after you've got it you then send it out and

julie is on her his way

And then what happens when she needs a little little

maintenance little fixing up So we have a great dealer

network in north America through thomas and the diamond truck

North american network

And so we've done a lot of training for our

dealers already in advance of the electric vehicle

And so they are prepared to support our customers

Uh in terms of the julie training um they've got

their high voltage training that's required

We do have We also are doing training for our

dealers and say when we get into the training side

of it we provide our customers who take delivery of

New Julie two days of training not only for the

driver but also for the technician

So we spent some time with them going through high

voltage training

And uh so it's a big shift for our dealers

as well as our customers too

So the training is important but the customer and dealer

So for the school bus driver yes what what is

that what's required to transfer over in terms of the

skill from the traditional diesel bus to the electric bus

Surprisingly it's not that difficult and I would say that

it's absolutely a joy to drive if you think about

the bus driver who really does do a lot of

work for our students

You know there's a lot of work and now in

an elected school bus it's quiet it's smooth it's very

easy to drive and and the ones who have been

driving those have really raved about it

They've been excited about it

We've got 63 completed with 47 that were in service

now as far as away from Alaska to Virginia hopefully

Maryland here soon and and Oklahoma in massachusetts

So we've got a lot of other vehicles out there

early this morning and the drivers are just excited for

it

So school bus drivers are very special people

They are very special

Remember our school bus drivers they're very much a part

of the educational ecosystem

Yeah they are very much uh so we're excited about

this and I do want to just to point out

to you while we're standing here talking all six of

these buses have been on and they are on right

now

They're idling right now

So two things they're not committing any type of emissions

while we're standing here

It's pretty we heard that it's on right now

So it's exciting that they're on and uh they're quiet

and so not only for the driver but also from

students as well

So mm and then they were showing us some of

them you have a an ability to detect pedestrians

There's something that was in our pedestrian detection

Some of the safety fish cheaters features that we put

on here production systems and this bus here also has

A TV 360 camera you can see the camera so

it gives the driver 360° view of the vehicle so

they can see all the way around it

We also have on this bus is a um auto

reversing door

So unfortunately in this industry sometimes students might get caught

in the door and we've created and launched and released

this option for our product today

So it's a it's a new product we released last

year that we're excited about continuing to drive safety within

the school bus industry tested it really is you guys

are quite a model but what our country is capable

of doing right We're excited about the future and the

elected school bus and just seeing the transition to a

clean transportation for our students

Uh lowering their cook their cost of operating the vehicle

We use a lot of tools from the Department of

Energy to help us model that for them

And so it's very exciting to do that

So I'm the piece about cost

Okay

I don't know if you have the answer but if

you do I'd love to hear it

How much does it normally cost to fill up a

tank of gas diesel in a in the older form

of buses versus what this would cost Good question

I'll give you what we talk with our customers around

On an average over 15 years roughly about 15,000 miles

a year

A diesel will consume Roughly around say $85,000 in fuel

costs over 15 years

And based on the models from the Department of Energy

they fleet tool we use is right around about 37,000

in that range as far as what we estimate that

the cost of the electricity over 15 years

So there's pretty good savings there for fuel

Absolutely not to mention the expense associated with fumes and

the exhaust

Yeah exactly

So those costs too

So it's exciting to be in this industry and to

see this industry change and to have you know the

opportunity we have to change and be responsible in our

environment

How do the students react Do they feel the difference

Can you do they can tell the difference They do

I mean you know the driver now can hear everything

going on

That's probably what they don't like

They don't like they don't like that part of it

That's one thing I probably ask them

They're not going to say that like that

So but but they are they think it's a matter

of fact last week I was in Porterville California uh

they're gonna take six of our buses and we was

out there meeting with them and they have an academy

there for interns juniors and seniors and we were meeting

with them anticipating the bus is coming and they've got

a project where they really want to start to take

a look at this

Is he in sustainability How much to do these buses

lower their maintenance costs How much does it help their

environment So things like that where they can actually take

that into the classroom

We've got some other projects up in michigan as well

with utility partners up there were really trying to help

beef up the curriculum and the stem program because this

is a great classroom environment for students to really you

know kind of get into this is real stuff you

know and we like to hear from you know what

I love about it also there's just so much nostalgia

well about the yellow school bus right And so you've

gone to this whole new technology but you kept the

yellow school bus right That's very special

It is so it's it's hard to change its kind

of identify it because of some of the regulations we

have to meet for state requirements and everything but we

were able to change the color of our label from

red to blue and obviously glad the name julie to

it

So it's been a great journey and we're looking forward

to the you know what the future holds for us

Thank you

Thank you for doing well we're excited about it

Thank you for the work you guys are

Yeah it's a joy to be here

So john I think maybe if you wanted to have

any closing thoughts around that

First of all I really want to thank you for

joining us today

I know how valuable your time is

It's wonderful to have you here not just to kind

of you know walk through but to engage as deeply

as you have that

Even the quality of your questions I think shows your

genuine commitment

So I really appreciate that

And anything we can do to help we stand ready

to fully understand the challenge and I think we're on

the cutting edge of trying to help solve it

So anything we can do to help or to help

execute that we're absolutely ready and would love to assist

in any way

Thank you

I appreciate that

Thank you

Well thank you all for the warm welcome

Uh you know I told the President the President I

was coming out he was like oh I would love

to be there too but you know we have to

split up our time what you all are doing here

um in north Carolina Governor I want to thank you

for your long standing commitment to innovation and making things

happen

I was saying to administrator Regan you know it's one

thing to kind of have an idea of what's possible

but then to make it possible is a whole other

thing Mayor you all are doing that right here in

the city and it's really exciting because this thomas bus

what you all are doing is a model not only

for the country but it really isn't a model for

the world and what's possible

Um I have to your point work for a while

on electric school buses even when I was in the

Senate and even well pre covid 25 million Children a

day in America go to school on a school bus

and and inhaling those fumes and they are toxic fumes

And so when we think about this as a public

health issue it absolutely is one when we think about

it in terms of the emissions and what that means

in terms of a changing climate it's a real issue

The cost saving piece of it which I think is

so extraordinarily important

Um it's another piece of it

But this is also a prime perfect clear example of

what I call american aspiration of our ability to see

what is possible and then do it and um do

it in a way that is about an investment in

research and development and technology and innovation because all of

what you're doing is a function of that the electric

bus authority what you're doing to spur thoughts about how

we can continue to grow and then also the work

you're doing with our students to help them explore what

is possible

This is really exciting extraordinary work

And a mayor I want to thank you and invite

you to say a few words were in your city

You were doing such great work here Mayor Wagner

So if you want to say a few words thank

you

Thank you

I appreciate you being here again

Let me formally welcome you to the city of High

Point

Thank you

It's so great to have you here to see this

great example of of exceptional american manufacturing

This is really an example of what happens when when

the exceptional workers of this city and of America are

unleashed to solve a problem

Uh so we're happy to have you come here and

see it

High point has always been known as a center of

manufacturing in the hosiery and the furniture industry and baking

school buses

So we're happy to have you here today

Thank you so much for coming

And I'd like to now turn it over to our

governor

White people

Yeah thank you

Mayor

Uh when it comes to clean energy jobs of tomorrow

are here today

And it's fitting that we have a clean energy leader

in Vice President Harris coming to north Carolina and getting

to see Greensboro Technical Community College where the training is

provided for these jobs and then to come to thomas

built buses to see these wonderful electric busses being built

for school Children

Uh really the epitome of clean energy we're grateful for

the infrastructure legislation that you are working on

It's important for jobs not only here in north Carolina

but across the country

And we're grateful that you're here today congressman David Price

We're grateful for your attendance and the hard work you've

been providing on uh for the people of north Carolina

And I'd like to introduce to you the E

P

A administrator

He uh formerly served as the Department of Environmental Quality

Secretary until Vice President Harris and President biden stole him

from us

But it's it's a good thing though that now he

gets to use his skill energy and talent for all

of the people of the United States

We're glad to have him back here in Greensboro where

he went to college in north Carolina A and T

State University

I'll introduce to you E

P

A

administrator Michael Regan Michael

Thank you Governor And it is such a pleasure to

be back in north Carolina

And I'll tell you I'm particularly proud of this company

a leading world renowned company here right here in north

Carolina

Uh and we're thankful for Governor cooper's leadership

But I'm really excited

I'm really excited to help implement and execute a longstanding

vision of Vice President Harris to electrify and clean up

our schools

This is a wonderful wonderful opportunity

And as E P a administrator this is so important

for us to say that this is what the crux

of the american jobs plan is all about

And as administrator I look forward to working with every

district across this great country during the application process the

procurement execution

We want to be there to help clean up our

air

So this is wonderful

Thank you for your leadership

Vice President and I'll turn it over now to Congressman

David Price

All right thank you

Welcome to north Carolina and thanks to all of you

for your interest in what's going on here

And it is very significant

What I take away from today is uh inspiration to

get to work on that american jobs plan which has

as a key component the development of clean energy and

the kind of project you see here where we've been

uh we've made a down payment on it in the

transportation housing appropriations subcommittee that I chair

In fact some of that low no emission buses funding

has made its way to this company and other pioneering

companies

Now we have a chance to take that down payment

to a whole new level

That's what the uh biden Harris administration is proposing

It's uh there's everyone has said it's uh it's a

major win for our country in terms of uh jobs

in terms of the emission levels that we're producing in

terms of the savings to our education systems

So thanks to the company for such a great tour

today

Thanks to all of you for your part in this

great project

Okay thank you congressman

And also we had a wonderful meeting a small group

bipartisan group of Congress members You were one of them

and one of the leaders in that group with the

president in the Oval Office just a week ago today

And and as you pointed out then and point out

now the kind of work that's happening here in north

Carolina is the kind of work that the american jobs

plan is designed to grow

Um in fact as it relates specifically to electric school

buses the American jobs plan dedicates $20 billion dollars to

getting to the point where we can electrify all school

blesses but it'll be it'll be a very significant step

towards that end

And again we we for those who can't imagine what's

possible

Look around this this this yard right here and you'll

see what is possible when we put in place and

then put the resources into american ingenuity in american just

innovation in a way that is changing the world I

would argue so

Thank you all very much

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

I think so

There's a lot of interest in your roles and diplomacy

that building type of countries in Mexico

Some curious one doesn't appear on any engagement with a

plan or doing

But also curious if you are getting kind of frustrated

with republicans trying to tie what your role is uh

with the tribal countries to what's happening at the bowl

So we are making progress

But let let's just be very clear this is a

complicated complex issue that actually has been an issue for

a long time

And the work that we are putting into it now

is work that is going to require a longstanding commitment

beyond administrations

It is work that is not going to evidence its

impact overnight because the issues are so intractable when we're

looking at my focus which is a diplomatic focus on

the Northern triangle

Um it is about bringing together as I did uh

now I think a couple of weeks ago the members

of the cabinet and um and the progress there is

that commerce for example is going to host a virtual

trade mission

The Department of Agriculture under the leadership of Secretary Vilsack

is increasing its focus on on the work that needs

to happen to support the agricultural um efforts of that

region that have been decimated because of extreme climate because

of um poverty

But it's evidence I think itself in a number of

ways including um extreme food and security in that region

Uh we're bringing together usa I

D

Um which is increasing its work around its its program

that is focused on disaster relief

So this is some of the work that's happening as

you know I met last week with the Prime Minister

of Japan and approached him about the work that Japan

can do and grow to assist

We are also working through the UN with ambassador a

thomas Greenfield around bringing our allies to really renew a

focus in that region

So it is something that is going to require diplomatic

work

It is something that is going to require a multilateral

approach

In addition to what we can do with our agencies

This week I'm bringing together foundation leaders from across our

country uh to really encourage them to do more in

terms of the civil society piece of this which will

be about both growing the work that they've already done

historically but also engaging civil society in the region in

the Northern Triangle

About one more question on vaccines you've been taking a

lead role in the hesitancy out of johnson and johnson

really scared

A lot of people have seen the legitimate news stories

People responding worry about vaccines they've taken what they've done

And it's also just created a ton of misinformation

What can you do to fix that issue to rebuild

that trust Well you rightly point out that we have

to take seriously the vaccine hesitancy issue

Um and I will argue however that we need to

do that and I'll always couple that with what we

need to do to make sure people have access and

they know where to actually get the vaccine

Because I'm finding as many people want to take it

as you just need to figure out where they can

get it right

Um and by the way today as you all know

April 19 we now have opened it up for everyone

Everyone is eligible over the age of 16

Um in terms of the hesitancy issue it's real

So that is about continuing to do the work of

reminding folks that it is safe that it is effective

that it will save their lives reminding folks that it

is not enough to get vaccinated

We also want to make sure people continue to wear

their masks social distance wash their hands

Um but you know we also have to realize that

part of the hesitancy and I'm I'm hearing more of

this comes from the fact that some people think well

this thing just got created too quickly

Like it just overnight it seemed to have occurred

Well we have to correct the record and make people

aware

No and Dr Fauci has talked about this

This vaccine is the product of a long period of

extensive research over many many years

So this is the work we have to do

Which is to educate people about the effectiveness specifically as

it relates to the J

And J

Vaccine

I know the C

D

C

Has information on their website for people who are concerned

But the reality is that at least right now and

I and I believe that that all of the scientists

and the public health experts are telling us that it

has affected a very very small fraction of those who

have received it

And the most important thing again is that everyone gets

the vaccine when it's their turn we we remain committed

to the fact that we will have enough vaccines in

the United States by the first of May to vaccinate

everyone

And so we want to encourage everyone to do their

part and to get their vaccine

Thank you advising the president on the refugee