Bigfork Schools is one of many districts across the U.S. that received an electric school bus from Lion Electric through a federal grant, but now, the company has nixed its warranty coverage due to financial struggles.  

The district was awarded $375,000 for an electric bus in 2022 through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, with the school board later approving the purchase in January 2023. To receive the electric bus, schools had to retire one of its diesel buses.  

The 71-passenger bus is used only for morning and afternoon routes, according to Bigfork Schools Transportation Director Danny Walker. Part of the EPA’s program included a five-year warranty with Lion Electric for servicing the buses. 

Lion Electric has more than 2,200 electric commercial vehicles on the roads across North America, transporting 130,000 children, according to a July article from School Transportation News. 

Walker said he heard rumblings of financial hardships at Lion Electric last December. It was around that time that Deloitte Restructuring Inc. was appointed by the Quebec Superior Court to monitor the business and its financial affairs, according to a letter sent to customers on July 15.  

This order was pursuant to the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act, which facilitates compromises and arrangements between companies and their creditors, according to the Department of Justice in Canada.  

In that July letter, Deloitte Restructuring Inc. said that all warranties and purchase orders in the U.S. transferred to the new corporation would be bankrupted. In other words, all warranties outside of the company’s home province of Quebec were canceled.  

Bigfork Schools Superintendent Tom Stack said the school has been in contact with EPA officials and state officials, but they are still left wondering what’s next. Recently, the heater on the bus went out, leaving the district to pay $4,600 for a new unit. 

The district plans to continue using the bus because they’ve had good luck with it otherwise. However, school officials don’t want to get into a position where it’s costing the district more money than it’s worth. 

As for the heater assembly, Walker said the district did not have to go through Lion Electric because it was made by a different company.  After calling technical support and troubleshooting the issue over the phone, he ordered the parts and said their mechanics will install it soon. 

There are still several parts of an electric bus that can be worked on like the district’s diesel buses, Walker said, however there’s a limit to what his mechanics can do with the electrical engine. 

“Whenever there’s an electrical issue, we don’t have that diagnostic equipment or the training. So, if there’s a problem on that side of the bus, that’s when we’re going to be in trouble,” Walker said.  

When the school was offered the bus through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, Stack said the choice to pursue it didn’t feel risky. It was basically a free bus for the district, including the charging infrastructure, and until recently, a good service warranty. Although taxes still paid for it in some form, because it came from a federal grant, Stack said buying a new bus would otherwise involve petitioning local taxpayers.  

“And obviously the EPA was involved. They vetted these vendors, and they put their stamp on them,” Stack said.  

An official with the EPA said in an email to the Bigfork Eagle that the agency understands Lion Electric’s bankruptcy “has put school districts who chose that company as a vendor in a difficult position,” adding that the agency is monitoring the bankruptcy proceedings and evaluating all options to support impacted school districts.

Walker said it’s hard to feel confident about the future without the warranty.  

“... $20 a day in diesel versus $2.50 a day in electricity -- it’s huge savings -- but there’s no more support, there’s no warranty and there’s no support to keep the vehicle on the road,” he said.  

Other school districts in Montana that received electric buses through the same EPA program included Fairfield, Havre and Clinton.  

Fairfield Public Schools received a grant to replace three buses with electrical ones, including the charging infrastructure. Superintendent Dustin Gordon said they’ve faced minor issues with all three buses throughout the years.  

“It’s usually a sensor trip or a connection (causing issues.) We believe the rough dirt roads on most of our routes are responsible for some of the problems.  Our e-bus that travels mostly pavement hasn’t had many problems at all,” Gordon said in an email response.  

The district is waiting on assistance from a service technician to replace a sensor in one of the buses, Gordon said. He said they’ve been in correspondence with the Canadian-owned part of Lion Electric, as well as a liaison for schools who own buses and need service. They’ve also spoken with the EPA, which told the school district that they would be assisting with some options as soon as the restructuring of Lion Electric is resolved. 

Havre Superintendent Brian Gum said the district has two buses in service — one used for a city route and another for a rural/highway route. One of the buses had an issue with a heater, which the district fixed on-site.   

Clinton School District 32 also has two electric buses, according to transportation contractor Ryan Handley. Again, he cited issues with a heater in one of the buses but reported no other major problems.  

He said they’ll continue using the buses until that changes.  

“I guess it makes me a little nervous; I got another three years left on the contract with the EPA. I guess I don’t really know what to do if it takes a crap on me, there’s really nobody that knows how to fix them,” Handley said.

If the battery went out, it would potentially cost more to repair the bus than it’s worth, he said. Lion Electric’s service warranty was why he chose the company in the first place. 

In Bigfork, Walker echoed the sentiment. Lion Electric had been around since 2016 and had a good reputation for servicing buses — Walker said he heard of the company flying out a mechanic to Montana, who fixed one of the buses in the school’s parking lot.  

“It’s not like where you can go to the auto parts store and buy brakes for your vehicle, because some of the parts on the bus are Lion exclusive only. And the funny thing is, you can’t even make contact with anybody in Quebec at Lion, nobody answers the phones. It’s almost like they just disappeared,” Walker said.  

Taylor Inman may be reached at 758-4440 or [email protected].