Summer is almost upon us, which means the weekday growl of diesel school buses will subside, for now. Imagine: What if the return to classrooms in the fall was much quieter and cleaner? No more roaring engines or smelly exhaust.
In more than 300 school communities across the country, electric school buses are beginning to make that future a reality. Many school districts in the U.S. are recognizing that the switch to electric for the journey to school can tackle several problems at once. Electric school buses are far healthier for kids and drivers, important contributors to climate goals, good for the economy, and can boost reliability on the electric grid, among many other benefits.
School buses represent a huge opportunity for transitioning away from fossil fuels. There are about half a million of them in the U.S., 95% of which run on diesel. Others run on propane.
Fewer than 1% of school buses currently run on increasingly clean electricity from the grid. That’s changing, though.
Making the switch to electric school buses
More school districts, cities, and states are getting on board with electric school buses. Counties in California, a leading state in electric school bus adoption, have also placed significant orders. The San Joaquin Valley Air Control District, which encompasses eight counties in the Central Valley, recently funded a program to buy 10 buses, while Modesto City Schools made a $14 million purchase of 30 buses, which the bus manufacturer touted as the single largest order (for purchase). Boston plans to replace its entire fleet of more than 700 school buses, and New York State will do the same, requiring all new school bus purchases to be zero-emission by 2027.
Read the who, how, and why of electric school bus adoption in 2022 ➝
