not happen overnight, there are significant costs associated with doing that. In the short term there have been some increases in cost. But I think as battery technology does mature, you will see those costs come down.” Nestlen said the trends in electric school bus funding mirror typical
successful government policies for other industries. “Early adopters sometimes are able to get in at a low investment
because the policymakers decide that’s the best way to help move that technology forward, no matter what it is,” he said. “Those people might have to work through some issues, so people are willing to be the innova- tive thought-provokers and get some financial benefit out of it. Once you jumpstart the technology or adaption and deployment, you start seeing the incentives or government investments go down.”
Multiple Options Experts said that it will become even more important for advocates and bus providers to work closely with districts as the funding landscape becomes more complicated. “One of the things that’s tough is school board members change every
couple of years,” Levinson said. “It can be hard to learn and retain that in- stitutional memory. It is a cultural shift, that takes learning and experience. The best endorsement for the savings is going and talking to districts that
Of the 51 operations that have embarked on a green
transition, 43% have at least one electric school bus on
order/in the fleet. (Out of 129 survey responses.)
It’s Easy to Join Our E-mail List!
Get STN’s Digital Magazine, E-News and More.
Visit
stnonline.com/go/enews
www.stnonline.com 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68