RICHMOND — Virginia kids are heading back to school in a more environmentally friendly way. School districts and counties statewide are making the switch to clean buses.
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded school districts in Virginia $26 million to purchase clean buses, and local groups are also working with districts to find other grant funding to buy them.
Ron Edwards, senior manager of fleet operations with the Fairfax County Public Schools Transportation Central Office, said this switch benefits kids’ health.
“When you’re on the bus ramp with the buses running and the pollution that diesel buses are emitting, it’s quite high,” said Edwards. “And, even in the winter when the windows are up and the doors are closed, they tested it inside the buses, and it actually leaches inside the buses, too.”
But, Edwards noted that what kids really enjoy about these new buses is how quiet they are, which is a top priority for them.
Districts are also seeing help from other local companies. Dominion Energy is helping districts access funding for conversion to electric school buses and other infrastructure changes.
Aside from buying new buses, districts also have the option of converting their existing fleet. But, like many proactive climate-friendly practices, the up-front costs can be daunting.
Yet, some school bus companies are forging ahead. Kevin Matthews is head of electrification for First Student — a nationwide school bus company — and said it’s quite beneficial.
“We’re seeing about a 20% to 30% reduction in operating cost on electric vehicles versus our fossil-fuel school buses,” said Matthews. “This is primarily driven by lower cost of fuel, lower liquid changes like motor oils, engine cooling, those types of issues, and less wear and tear on brakes.”
Since clean school buses are relatively new, misinformation has been spread about them. This ranges from them not being as effective in the cold to having low driving range between charges.
Brittany Barrett — deputy director of implementation and operations with the World Resource Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative — said as with any new technology, there’s always a learning curve.
“So, this is requiring getting more education on charge-management systems and how to charge effectively,” said Barrett. “They’ve got to train their mechanics for working on these buses.”
