Electric school buses typically generate more headlines than numbers in use. Thanks to increased government funding to aid the costly transition, school districts may finally start adding more electric buses to their fleets. Still, compared to their diesel counterparts, electric buses have a long way to go before taking over the market.
“What you’ve got at the moment is many, many districts and users are putting their toes in the water,” Kevin Bangston, president and CEO of bus maker Thomas Built Buses Inc., told Bloomberg for an article on the impact of electric school buses. “They are running a couple of buses, so they need a charger or two.”
While electric school bus use is on the rise, they still only account for less than 1 percent of U.S. school buses, according to the article. In 2016, the U.S. had only 10 electric school buses that were considered awarded, ordered or delivered. That number bumped to more than 5,600 by December of last year.
Another 10,000 diesel buses are scheduled for retrofits from diesel into electric down the road, but so far only 22 of those have been ordered. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing funding up to $900 million for nondiesel vehicles as part of the Clean School Bus Program. Additional electric funding comes via the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Buses are considered prime options for electrification due to several factors mentioned in the article:
Summer breaks mean they are off the power grid during that time.
Kids’ class schedule provides a charge window during the day.
Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland is one of the country’s fastest adopters of electric buses, with 86 in operation and another 240 planned by the end of 2024. To help alleviate the cost of electric buses – reported at about $420,000 with about $50,000 necessary for charging infrastructure compared to $160,00 for a diesel bus – the district partnered with a startup that reportedly buys the buses, oversees charging and infrastructure, and pays utility costs.
Retrofitting buses from diesel to electric can cost between $100,000 and $175,000 according to the article.
Dave Lubach is executive editor of the Facility Market.
