“Things have been going well,” said Superintendent Blake Var- gas. “Outside of some software issues between the bus and the charger to set up automatic overnight charging capabilities, we have been very pleased with the overall operation of the buses. The automatic charging ensures that we are using the cheapest rate possible in order to maximize savings opportunity for our district.” Vargas said the district did not apply for the 2023 round of funding because it wanted to see how well the electric buses per- formed. But those buses have “exceeded our expectations.” “If the operations continues as they have and savings continue


to come in at the rate we are seeing, there is a chance we would continue to bring more in for the future,” he shared. “We sized our infrastructure in order to accommodate additional units coming onto our grid and worked hand in hand with our electric provider to ensure we were forward-thinking with this approach.” Vargas said he was at first “very skeptical” about electric buses,


but he became convinced after doing research and visiting the IC Bus plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also visited Knox County R-I School District in Edina, Missouri, to learn about its experience with electric buses. He advised district leaders to “keep an open mind,” as he did, even if they have doubts about EVs. “I would highly encourage visiting similar schools to your size


and route makeup in order to assess the viability locally,” Vargas said. “I traveled to a neighboring state to do just that and was very happy I took the time to assess not only operations of the bus but both positive and negatives, as well as continued discussion on what would best benefit our community locally. Sizing appropriate battery chargers and capability on the bus is essential to bringing in smooth operation of EV buses. The last thing you want to do is rush in and not have what you need for operation daily.” Large school districts also benefitted from CSBP funding. Bal-


timore City Public Schools, for example, received $9.425 million in rebates, funding 25 charging stations and 25 electric buses, including 20 IC Bus Type C buses and five Collins Bus Type As. The buses will serve about 350 students, in a district with 76,000 students. The district’s total fleet is about 400 buses, the remain- ing 375 powered by diesel. Bus provider Highland Electric Fleets prepared the application


for Baltimore City and owns and maintains the buses for the dis- trict. “Given the challenges of electrification, with the first round of the Clean School Bus Program there were a lot of unknowns,” said Brian Buccella, chief commercial officer at Highland Electric Fleets. He suggested school bus operators ask and answer several ques-


tions before proceeding. “How do you do your site planning? Do you have enough power


routed to the depot? What chargers should you consider, how do you do route analysis, and ensure not only will the buses be ready in the morning but have the charge to make it through the whole day?” he offered. Ultimately, Buccella said he was very pleased with how the


federal program has played out. “I personally was encouraged by the rubric they put in place to ensure air quality monitors are part of the process, workforce development standards, jobs for the districts, making sure diesel


www.stnonline.com 45


Rapides Parish School Board in central


Louisiana will be one of the first districts in the state to acquire electric school buses, with its award of 25 buses and charging infrastructure, during the U.S. Environmen- tal Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program first-round rebate. Representa- tives at Blue Bird, Ross Bus & Equipment Sales, and charging infrastructure provider InCharge Energy examined the district’s two sites and designed a charging plan to “limit any change operationally so it can be as seamless a transition as possible,” explained InCharge Account Executive Michael Heller. Eight dual chargers are being installed


at the district’s site in Buckeye, working with utility Cleco, and seven dual chargers at the district site in nearby Alexandria, with the city’s municipal electric coopera- tive. Heller said both processes have gone “perfectly,” and the chargers will be ready and buses will be on the road this month. Rapides Parish electric buses were be- ing outfitted with air conditioning units at this report but were destined for delivery when the work was complete. Meanwhile, Monroe City School System,


located about 100 miles north of Rapides Parish, also received awards through the Clean School Bus Program. Heller said that the spread of electric school bus- es throughout the state could be key to allowing schools to run their buses for field trips and sporting events, rather than the shorter daily routes that districts are currently limited to. “They could essentially drive over to


Monroe for a Friday night football game, and they’ll be able to charge up there,” Heller said. “Now, a school system really needs to do due diligence [before sending electric buses on longer trips], but I’d like to think that at the museums and other facilities that students go there will be publicly accessible charging.” -K.L.


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