North America’s leading school bus manufacturer, Thomas Built Buses, has unveiled its newest school bus. Of course, the second-generation Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley looks the same from the outside as most school buses in the USA. It has a beaked front part and yellow varnish. The reason for this is that the buses designed for transporting children were once built on truck chassis. The innovation is mostly to be found in the drive system, which has been completely redesigned.
The Jouley was originally presented in 2017, and in the 8 years since then, more than a thousand units have been produced. Its manufacturer saw the time to make an important design change. Its drive is now provided by the most modern Accelera 14Xe type e-axle, which includes the 295 horsepower electric motor, the two-speed gearbox and disc brakes. This solution makes the use of a cardan shaft superfluous.
Another advantage of this construction is that, together with the inverter, it directs the torque directly to the wheels, which results in more even and smooth acceleration. The maintenance of the drive system of the school bus is also simplified due to the fewer moving parts, which also contributes to the reduction of service costs. It is important to add that the e-axle is already used in many city electric buses. So it’s really about using a proven design.
The engineers also modified the wheelbase. In the case of the second generation, the distance between the front and rear axles reaches 5.56 meters. According to Thomas Built Buses, they did this because the operators specifically requested it. The shorter wheelbase significantly improves the overall maneuverability of the vehicle. This makes it easier to get by even in tight spaces. The bus was equipped with Proterra’s 800-volt battery pack with a capacity of 246 kWh. This is 86 kWh more than the first generation version had.
The single-door school bus can transport a total of 60 children. Series production of the second-generation Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley has already begun, but this year it is expected that the range will be expanded with additional wheelbase options.
Source: www.vezess.hu
