By Sara Beth Williams–
The San Juan Unified School District has kicked off the new school year with six all-electric buses.
The new buses were unveiled as part of the district’s fleet during a ceremony last month, marking a step towards reducing diesel emissions and fuel costs, the district said in a press release.
Though nearly identical on the outside to its fuel-operated counterparts, the fully electric vehicles are quieter than traditional school buses, the release said, which allows drivers to better monitor passenger conversations and behavior during routes.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, current electric school buses cost, on average, $400,000, which is higher than the cost of diesel-operated buses. The higher cost is for battery-operated electric buses with larger batteries, but the U.S. Department of Energy also predicts that the cost could “continue to decrease as the market matures.”
The San Juan Unified School District is not the only district to employ new electric school buses. Stockton Unified School District also recently added 35 new electric school buses with grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the district’s media release, the supply of electric buses to San Juan Unified was made possible through the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Grant and in collaboration with community partners including SMUD, Sacramento Air Quality Management District, Model 1 Bus Sales, and KMM Construction.
As previously reported, all non-mandated bus transportation was eliminated in 2011 in the San Juan Unified School District. Mandated transportation services, such as special education and alternative education programs, are still served with bus transportation.
San Juan Unified School District Board members, transportation staff, and community leaders recently celebrated the unveiling of six new all-electric buses, just in time for the beginning of the school year.
Thanks for reading The Sentinel. You are either trying to access subscribers-only content or you have reached your limit of 4 free articles per 30 days. Click here to sign in or subscribe.
