Chandu Visweswariah, left, and Patty Buchanan charge their electric car. The couple was instrumental in initiating research into the total cost of ownership benefits of electric school buses for their community located along New York’s Hudson River. (Photo by Susan Sammon.)
includes $100,000 in funding for the elec- tric bus from the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund settlement. It assumes annual maintenance and fuel costs of $8,300 a year for the gas bus and $2,100 a year for the electric. A higher bond was also used for the electric bus. The interactive tool shows that by driv- ing 8,000 miles a year, the total ownership costs of a gasoline and electric bus would be equal in less than five years, and the electric bus would generate savings in comparison to the gas bus each year there- after. Using federal funds designated for air quality non-attainment zones (CMAQ) in- stead of Volkswagen funds would provide similar results. Using factors specific to the local school
district, a new 66-passenger electric bus would be cheaper as a whole when com- pared to a new gasoline bus right off the bat. The electric bus would break even in about five years, after running continuous- ly, another analysis with the tool found. Ultimately, Croton100 wants its school
district to transform its entire 44-bus fleet to electric.
“School districts as a whole are the largest
carbon emitters funded by taxpayers, and when they purchase new buses, they do it through tax dollars,” noted Buchanan. “Gen-
38 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2021
erally, there’s a lot of hesitation [to adopt electric buses] because of both technology concerns and the high purchase price.” The research and interactive tool helped
show residents that these concerns were “not well-founded,” Buchanan said, “but it’s hard for changes to come about. The public were much more receptive than the school district itself, the push really came from the community.” “You wouldn’t believe all the hesitation,”
added Visweswariah, rattling off concerns he has heard. “The technology doesn’t work. Does it drive on hilly roads? Can it drive in the snow? What about charging? Doesn’t it cost too much? Every excuse you can possi- bly imagine was thrown at us. We had to build up an ecosystem of supporters, with quantified arguments showing why the electric bus solution was best. It’s really a mindset change we had to achieve.” Given the many hours they spent on
research over the past year and a half, the couple can understand why administrators may be reluctant. “Now every district has to go through
this process. We did, there’s no choice,” Visweswariah noted. “We can’t buy these diesel buses anymore. So, our goal is to make the knowledge we’ve gained avail- able to other districts.”
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