Fewer than 1% of the nearly half million school buses on the roads in the U.S. ran on electricity as of the end of 2023, even though this kind of clean bus has been available for yearsThe first electric school buses in the United States began running a decade ago in three school districts in California, providing a ride that was much less noisy, smelly and dirty than the diesel buses kids and parents were used to.
But that may be changing. The number of electric school buses on the road or on order across the country has more than tripled in the last two years, according to the World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative. “It’s just a matter of breaking down these barriers,” said Alicia Cox, a mother of two in Jackson, Wyoming. Her state is the only to not have a single district with an electric bus operating or on order.Cox's son, a second-grader, often rides a diesel bus to school.
Demand for the money has been “heartening,” said Christine Koester, a director for the Clean School Bus Program at the EPA. Bought with a $300,000 federal grant, it's been operational only about three of the twelve months since then, due to maintenance and a learning curve with charging. That’s not discouraging Dearborn from moving forward with adding 18 more, but it’s a risk others may be reluctant to take.
“Even though diesel is not as clean, it’s getting the job done,” Cox said schools and fleet managers tell her.