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t’s easy to dismiss the idea of going electric. May- be you’re “too small,” or in an area that’s “too cold” or “too hilly.” Maybe your routes are “too long.” Whatever your current challenges are, transpor-


tation experts share that no project should be dismissed simply because of preconceived notions. That does not mean going fully electric today may an option for your district, or that the process will be easy. Instead, it’s about being open to the idea that there’s a way to incorporate zero emissions into your bus fleet. Three Rivers Community Schools in Michigan is a


perfect example of a small, rural district that adopted two electric school buses in 2019 and has had success. In fact, it was one of the inaugural winners of the Green Bus Summit Fleet awards presented at STN EXPO Reno in 2022 in the Rural District Under 50 Buses category. Kenni Jean Schrader, the transportation supervisor for the district, explained that the availability of Volkswa- gen Mitigation Trust Fund for electric buses in 2016 led to collaboration with other Michigan districts to start the electrification process. She shared that she, too, was hesitant at first and questioned whether electric buses would be possible for her district given its location. After contacting the local power company, Schrad- er began doing research. Conversations included the facilities director and superintendent then expanded to manufacturers and charging companies. A year later, Schrader received approval from the


superintendent and an application with seven other school districts was submitted. It resulted in the first 17 electric school buses coming to Michigan. The next step was looking at routes and where the buses would be best served. Schrader shared she conducted a route analysis, looking at roads and bridges to ensure the electric buses wouldn’t exceed the maximum weight capacity. Fast forward to 2019. Buses were ordered and routes were determined. “I decided I was going to put one on an in-town route


that was going to service more densely populated com- munities, where we pick up a larger group of kids that stand outside, who are more vulnerable to tailpipe emis- sions,” she shared. “The other bus we received, I decided to put it in on a more outlying area of the of the district because we do cover 139-square miles.” The decision proved to be a successful one. The two


routes that were selected continue to operate with the electric buses today. The bus that runs out of town trav- els about 100.5 miles roundtrip a day (61.5 miles in the a.m. and 40 miles in the p.m., the differences due to the district’s bell times in the afternoon) and is the district’s longest route. It even drives on dirt roads. After logging 45,000 miles in four years, the tires on the bus serving


48 School Transportation News • JUNE 2024


the rural route have yet to be replaced. The front two tires on the in-town route were replaced, which Schrad- er attributed to frequent turns. The in-town route travels 57 miles (25 in the a.m., 32 in the p.m.). “It was a very long process for us at the time. And here


we are four and a half years later, still seeing some really good outcomes on every decision,” she said, adding that EVs return with about 30 percent charge remaining. She added that the remaining battery charge drops to


about 20 percent in the winter. Meanwhile, Monongalia County Schools in West Vir- ginia is also running an electric bus on its longest route, which travels about 85 to 90 miles one way, though the district is considered urban and located on the south- eastern border with Pennsylvania. Monongalia County runs two-tiers in the morning


and two in the afternoon. Tony Harris, director of trans- portation, said the buses do charge in between routes. “We only have a couple routes [out of] this terminal that I would not want to put [an electric] on,” he said. “Then we have another terminal out in the western edge of our county that we wouldn’t put any out there just due to the location and trying to get the infrastructure in that area.” Kevin Matthews, the head of electrification for con-


tractor First Student, which is quickly electrifying its fleet of 40,000 school buses, added that the biggest difference between rural and urban districts is route length. “You have to plan for that longer morning and after-


noon route when you’re looking at your system. That may mean obtaining a bus that has a larger battery capacity and then also having charging infrastructure that can charge the bus faster during the midday period in order to meet its afternoon requirements as well,” he advised. Vivek Garg, co-founder of contractor Zum and its


chief operating officer, noted that routes should be evaluated case by case. “Even within one district system not all routes are long, and often districts do not evaluate EV options because of a general perception that rural district routes are long rather than evaluating actual data,” he said. He added that rural and smaller districts like some of their larger, urban counterparts can take advantage of priority status offered by various grant programs, such as the EPA Clean School Bus Program. He added that technical resources are also available, one such program is offered through the National Renewable Energy Labo- ratory, which offers free technical assistance to support the maintenance and operation of green fleets. Plus, school districts can collaborate with local utilities for on- going technical support in infrastructure development. For larger urban districts, such as Los Angeles Uni-


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