The Future of Student Transit: Why Districts Are Going Electric
As school districts nationwide seek innovative ways to fund and operate student transit, many are adopting electric school bus fleets. This shift is being driven by a range of motivations, from reducing operational costs and mitigating financial risks to prioritizing student health and leveraging new government funding. In this post, we’ll explore why electric school buses are quickly becoming the preferred choice for districts looking to make smart investments in their transit systems. The main reasons include savings in maintenance costs, reduced financial risks and impact on budgets, health benefits for students and drivers, and robust government incentive programs.
Cost Savings for School Districts from Electric School Buses
Electric school buses have upfront costs that need to be considered, including the bus procurement process and the cost of new charging infrastructure, which many grant programs help to address. However, electric school buses are having some positive impacts on school district budgets in terms of rolling operating costs.
Some districts are saving between $4,000 – $11,000 per year on operating costs and maintenance, per bus. Those savings, over the life of the bus, can add up significantly. According to an analysis completed by the Electric School Bus Initiative, the total savings of these vehicles can amount to as much as $100,000 over the service life of the bus.
TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) will likely vary between districts due to state-level incentives and regional differences.
De-Risking Budgets from Fossil Fuels
Energy and fuel costs are often impacted by geopolitical challenges. These cost increases also affect school districts and their financial budgets.
Diesel prices have fluctuated considerably over the last 30 years, and have often been reactive to macroeconomic forces and changes in U.S. foreign policy. The Covid-19 pandemic affected fuel costs across the supply chain. This was exacerbated further in 2022, when the Russian Invasion of Ukraine led to immediate impacts on fuel costs in the United States and beyond.
Within months, some school districts were forced to make cuts in other parts of their budgets because the price of diesel increased so substantially over a short period of time. An EdWeek Research Center survey from April 2022 found that among those surveyed, half reported that fuel costs increased 1-50% compared to the beginning of the school year, while 20% reported fuel prices rising between 50-99%.
In Iowa, for example, a school district that relied on a USDA grant program for fresh deliveries of fruits & vegetables for more than 4,500 students was impacted by a new fuel surcharge. The cost of fuel dried up the available funds to support the program for at least one of the districts in Iowa, and others were on their way.
Charging school buses with electricity can help to insulate community budgets from such volatile prices, and ensure that essential programs like this do not see unexpected cuts.
Student Health Benefits from Zero-Emission Electric School Buses
School districts are also prioritizing clean solutions for student transit because of the health impacts diesel buses can have on students.
Diesel-fueled school buses have been proven to have negative impacts on student health. One issue is that school buses often idle their engines when loading or unloading, which exposes children directly to exhaust fumes. Once inside, the air quality can often be even worse than outside the bus.
Students most affected by diesel exhaust from school buses tend to come from Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other disadvantaged communities who rely on buses to get to school. They are more likely to suffer from asthma than other students.
Numerous studies have shown that tailpipe emissions can increase the risk of pediatric asthma, which in turn can increase student absenteeism. Since kids have quicker breathing rates than adults, they end up absorbing more of these toxins into their lungs than adults do.
Fewer health problems mean better school attendance, which is a compelling benefit for both students and parents. Adopting zero-emissions buses can help mitigate many of these health concerns for all communities.
Funding Options for Electric School Buses
School districts considering upgrading their school bus fleets now have more grant and incentive options for securing electric school buses than ever before, and this makes the option of going electric a compelling choice.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 provides $5 billion in clean school bus funding support through the EPA over five years, from 2022-2026. The EPA’s Clean School Bus Program includes both grants and rebate programs. It also specifically incorporates priority and non-priority districts, rural, and tribal communities across the United States.
The EPA recently opened a fourth round of funding to provide substantial financial support for zero-emission vehicles via the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program. This round can fund up to 50 electric school buses per application. You can read more about the 2024 EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program here. Applications for this program are due by 4 p.m. EST on January 9, 2025.
Another example of federal funding to support zero-emission vehicles is the EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program that opened earlier this year. Approximately 70% of that funding, around $700 million, will go towards replacing diesel buses with electric buses across the United States, with the remainder designated to support other vehicle types.
80% of all school buses procured in 2023 were aided by a subsidy like the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program. These incentives represent significant drivers behind why school districts are incorporating electric vehicles into their fleets.
Building the future of student transit is all about addressing the needs of the community and the financial concerns of school districts at large. The benefits of making the switch to electric buses would be felt quickly and have long-term impacts on school districts’ sustainability goals. By moving to electric school buses, school districts have a clear path moving forward that positively impacts the health of students as well as their budget.
