Blue Bird Donates Electric School Bus to Hoop Bus

Nonprofit Youth Sports Organization to Use Bus as Vehicle of Change in Communities Across California

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, donated an advanced electric school bus to Hoop Bus Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to youth programming and community engagement across North America. The full-size, zero-emission bus is equipped with basketball hoops at the front and back, turning the vehicle into an interactive, mobile court. Hoop Bus will use this electric vehicle to serve thousands of at-risk youth in under-resourced communities across the Golden State.

Blue Bird donated an all-electric school bus to Hoop Bus, a California-based nonprofit organization. Pictured here is professional basketball player and movie actor Elvin Rodriguez dunking on the first zero-emission hoopbus. (Image provided by Hoop Bus)

The zero-emission hoopbus makes its debut today at 1:00 p.m. PST at West Oakland Middle School in Oakland, Ca. Following the dedication ceremony, the nonprofit will host a P.E. Takeover, one of its signature programs. This high-energy and inclusive social-emotional-learning experience meets students grades 4-12 where they are at, encouraging health equity, team building and self-love. This P.E. Takeover kicks off Hoop Bus’ event series leading up to NBA All-Star weekend on Feb. 14-16, 2025.

Since its inception in 2019, Hoop Bus has impacted 320,000 youth annually with hundreds of events and was featured in NBA’s Emmy-award winning 75th anniversary campaign. Hoop Bus operates six vehicles of change in metropolitan areas across the United States, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Three of those hoopbuses are Blue Bird buses.

“We are pumped to add our first all-electric, zero-emission vehicle to the Hoop Bus fleet,” said Hoop Bus executive director Dan Moroni, who led the conversion project of the Blue Bird electric vehicle. “This electric bus allows us to bring basketball-based programming to communities across California in a clean and quiet ride. As a vehicle of change, it will help us rebuild, empower and amplify communities through basketball.”

Hoop Bus converted the vehicle into a mobile basketball court and tricked out the interior by adding collaborative seating areas, storage spaces, flatscreen TVs, and a basketball rack. The nonprofit also added solar panels to the vehicle and will use the clean energy generated to run the sound and entertainment system on its state-of-the-art hoopbus.

“We think it’s a slam dunk to help Hoop Bus build better communities by bringing the game of basketball to people in need,” said Blue Bird president and CEO Phil Horlock. “As an added plus, our all-electric bus generates zero emissions, protecting the health of riders, drivers, and the community-at-large.”

Blue Bird donated a Blue Bird All American electric bus in excellent condition to the nonprofit. The 40-foot bus can traditionally carry a maximum of 84 students for up to 120 miles on a single charge.

Blue Bird partner organization InCharge Energy, the leading provider of EV charging solutions and service support for electric fleets, donated a Level 2 AC vehicle charger to Hoop Bus ensuring the bus is fully charged overnight and ready to provide basketball-based programming to local youth each day. The donation includes a virtual site assessment and route planning consultation, the charging hardware, as well as one year of InControl charge management and maintenance software and data plan.

Blue Bird is the only U.S.-owned and operated school bus manufacturer in the United States. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 2,500 electric-powered buses on the road today.

About Blue Bird Corporation

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird's complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.

About Hoop Bus

Hoop Bus Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that fosters community engagement and youth programming in communities across America that need it most. They partner with other nonprofits, schools and corporate brands to break down social barriers, promote health equity, increase attendance and teach life skills through the love of basketball. For more information or to make a tax-free donation, visit www.hoopbus.com.

About InCharge Energy

InCharge Energy provides reliable, cost-effective charging solutions for North American fleets of all sizes. Its service and maintenance offerings, available in every state and province, are designed to support multiple brands of charging equipment. The company also offers a range of customizable financial solutions to meet every business objective and budget, accelerating the path to fleet electrification for auto manufacturers and dealerships, school districts, and state and local agencies. The InCharge team of service experts works remotely to keep chargers operational and dispatches on-staff, highly trained technicians across the continent to facilitate rapid issue resolution. The company’s open-API InControl™ is the first fleet charging software to be widely adopted across North America to control costs and manage charging results. This AI-powered charger maintenance platform is purpose-built to keep electric fleets on the roads, empowering businesses with key insights to easily optimize fleet operations and minimize total cost of ownership (TCO). Headquartered in Los Angeles, InCharge has operating facilities in Richmond, Virginia; Montreal, Quebec; and Bellflower, California. Learn more about InCharge Energy and its services at www.inchargeus.com. You can also follow InCharge on LinkedIn.

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Blue Bird

Julianne Barclay

TSN Communications

M: +1.267.934.5340

E: julianne@tsncommunications.com

Hoop Bus

Clara Bourrat

Social Media Manager

Hoop Bus Inc

M: +1.424.440.9271

E: Clara@hoopbus.com

InCharge Energy

Jennifer Reed

Vice President, Marketing

InCharge Energy

M: +1.805.850.5493

E: jennifer.reed@inchargeus.com

Source: Blue Bird Corporation