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Are Electric School Buses Safe?

Electric school buses are becoming more and more common.

Sure, they are better for the environment, but are they safe?

With millions of kids relying on buses to get them to and from school each day, this is an important question to ask. The safety of one vehicle compared to another can be difficult to quantify, but data can help shed light on the issue. In addition to providing cleaner air for kids to breathe, electric buses may also be less likely to catch on fire in the event of a collision.

According to one study, electric vehicles have only a .03% chance of igniting. This is considerably lower than the 1.5% of combustion engine vehicles.

Both the design and features of a bus also have a significant impact on overall safety. One bus with a forward-thinking approach to both is the Saf-T-Liner® C2 Jouley®.

Saf-T-Liner® C2 Jouley®

As a proud, full-service Thomas Built Buses dealer, we love Jouley. It offers a variety of both standard and additional features:


  • Zero tailpipe emissions

  • Specialized battery packaging

  • Saf-T-Anchor Removable Seat (S.T.A.R.S.) mounting system

  • Auto-reversing doors

  • Intellipark® parking brake

  • Hill Start Assist

  • PerimeterView® 360 camera package



One of the biggest areas of concern related to safety is the battery itself. For the Jouley, Thomas Built Buses partnered with Proterra, a leading manufacturer of electric vehicle technology, including batteries and drivetrain solutions.

The Jouley features two Proterra battery packs. These are encased in ballistic-grade aluminum that is also lightweight. This protects against a variety of potential hazards including weather and collisions.

If a thermal incident were to occur, which is unlikely, Passive Propagation Resistance (PPR) detects and isolates the affected cell. Neighboring cells are also protected.

With these numerous examples of innovation like this, electric buses are both already safe and are likely to get even safer in the future.

Questions? The Kerlin Team is happy to help! 260-3523-2722

Kerlin Bus Sales & Leasing is a full service Thomas Built Buses Dealer offering new and used buses.