In 2022 the Bienville Parish School Board received a grant from the United States Department of Energy Clean Bus Program which included four fully electric buses along with all of the charging infrastructure needed to support them. The total value of this grant was over 1.5 million dollars. This week the first of these new buses was delivered to Arcadia.
On Thursday selected Bienville Parish drivers met to train on how to operate and charge these new equipment. Included in the training were drivers (left to right) Angela Adams, Monica Brice, and Lydia Harris from the Arcadia School Complex along with Marilyn Jason and Carlette Moore from the Ringgold School Complex. These drivers were chosen because the length of their routes will accommodate the limited range of these 71 passenger Blue Bird electric buses. Also pictured are trainers Garrett Ross and Brad Deglandon from Ross Bus Sales in Alexandria. The rest of the buses are expected in the next couple of weeks and should be seen rolling the streets of Bienville Parish soon.