North Carolina's first electric school bus is top of the class

The Cherokee Boys Club in Cherokee, North Carolina has had its electric school bus since early 2022.

Everything's going great: For summer school sessions, the bus did two routes per day on one charge, running clean and quiet. The interior is the same as a diesel bus, so the drivers feel at home.

Except… the hushed motor might be a double-edged sword for adults.

"That's one thing about the electric bus, you can actually hear the kids talk about you," said Donnie Owle, service manager for the nonprofit club, which runs all bus service for the Cherokee Central School System.

So far, the state has awarded funding for six electric school buses to districts across the state, including the tribe's, through its share of the Volkswagen settlement, which amounts to more than $90 million for projects that lower harmful carbon emissions and improve local air quality. Separately, the Cherokee Boys Club has ordered five additional electric buses, due at the end of 2022, and has applied to fund 14 more, which would make their fleet 100% electric. After that phase, they plan to take their commitment to clean energy to the next level by offsetting the electricity used to charge the buses by installing a solar bus depot canopy.

Find out why The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' new electric bus is the first in North Carolina, but certainly not the last ➝

How does this flip the script?

Schools can be a model in the transition to electric transportation, as all communities stand to benefit from cleaner air and safer commutes.

Creative Energy

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