The Big Players Major national school bus operators are
increasingly exploring electric buses and working with their customers to add electric buses to their fleets. A key part of this process is understanding the return on investment (ROI), including how it differs for each district and how it may change over time. Student Transportation of America recently
launched its EV bus pilot program, with “the goal of gathering real world intelligence,” explained Ron Halley, vice president for fleet and facilities as well as EV implementation and development at the company. “This includes how things like climate and region- al traffic congestion impact EV battery life, generalized vehicle wear and tear, and other critical KPIs. After these vehicles have been on the road for a longer period of time, we should have a better idea of the potential ROI.” STA offers a checklist to help districts deter-
mine if it makes sense to add electric buses to their fleet, and they are identifying locations for more rollouts of electric buses or conver- sions of conventional buses to electric under the pilot program. Halley noted that on average schools save
about $2,000 a year in fuel and $4,400 a year in maintenance costs with an electric bus, but there are a “vast number” of other variables contributing to the ROI. “There is discussion about how much the
vehicle cost will come down year by year,” Halley said. “If those reductions hold true for two to three years and grants become more readily available, then we could plot a reliable ROI.” Meanwhile, First Student aims to increase
the national rollout of electric school buses by leaps and bounds. The school bus con- tracting company buys, maintains, operates, and owns buses for districts. It has delved into
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