Are electric school buses coming to SLO County schools? Administrators are wary
To reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from local school buses, Central Coast Community Energy has launched a funding program to encourage schools to purchase electric school buses.
But many districts are wary of purchasing electric school buses, despite typically replacing one or two buses on their fleets per year on average.
Central Coast Community Energy is a community-owned electricity provider that says its mission is to provide clean and renewable energy for Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz counties.
Its electric school bus program will fund 50%, or up to $200,000, of the cost to purchase an electric school bus for accepted applicants.
Central Coast Community Energy has a total of $2.2 million available, which is enough to fund 11 school electric school buses.
Title 1 schools will receive priority, according to Central Coast Community Energy.
“Electrifying school buses is an incredible opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the Central Coast by supporting our local students and schools,” Central Coast Community Energy CEO Tom Habashi said in a statement. “This program is in alignment with our transportation electrification efforts to improve air quality locally, especially for our community’s students.”
The San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District also has funding available that may close the funding gap and cover close to 100% of a school’s purchase of an electric bus. The same is for local air pollution control districts in other Central Coast counties.
In San Luis Obispo County, the air pollution control district has up to $165,000 available for districts that replace an old bus with a diesel-powered bus, or $200,000 available for a zero-emission, hybrid or low-nitrogen oxides propane bus. Priority will be given to zero-emission bus purchases, according to the district.
However, because electric buses are more expensive than gas-powered buses, funds provided by the air pollution control district will likely only partially account for the total cost, according to the agency’s school bus grant program website.
School districts wanting to participate in the county Air Pollution Control District’s school bus grant program must apply by Aug. 13. Applications for Central Coast Community Energy’s electric school bus program opened July 27 and close when funds are depleted.
“Central Coast Community Energy is excited to fund electric school buses throughout the Central Coast,” Central Coast Community Energy programs director Jon Griesser said in a statement. “Our funding in combination with southern Central Coast (air pollution control district) funding will allow schools to accelerate the adoption of electric school buses and provide students with clean transportation and educational opportunities around the benefits of electrification.”
Schools may also apply for additional funding through their local air pollution control district and Central Coast Community Energy for electric vehicle charging stations.
Notably, schools are only able to apply for the Central Coast Community Energy electric school bus funding if they agree to plug in the school bus to a charging station within the energy provider’s service area.
What buses are local school districts buying?
In San Luis Obispo County, school buses in the county emit about 1,492 metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to data compiled by Central Coast Community Energy. That’s about 2% of the Central Coast’s total carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, according to the energy provider.
Still, some school district administrators are wary to make the switch to electric buses.
Chris Bonin, director of buildings, grounds and transportation at San Luis Coastal Unified School District, said he has concerns that electric buses don’t drive far enough and there’s not adequate charging infrastructure yet.
“We’re waiting for the tech to improve,” he said. “We definitely don’t want to be leaving kids out on the highway stranded because their bus ran out of charge.”
San Luis Coastal currently has an all-diesel-powered fleet, similar to other districts in the county.
Lucia Mar Unified School District just purchased 10 new school buses — six diesel-powered and four propane-powered buses, according to Amy Jacobs, a spokesperson for the district.
Paso Robles Joint Unified School District was most likely the first district in San Luis Obispo County to purchase an electric school bus, according to Kelly Stainbrook, the district’s maintenance, operations and transportation director.
Stainbrook said the electric bus is full sized, holds 72 passengers and has a range of 80 to 100 miles on one charge.
The Paso Robles district purchased the bus in 2020 using grants from the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District and California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, district assistant superintendent of business services, Brad Pawlowski, wrote in an email to The Tribune.
The North County district is no longer purchasing any more gas-powered school buses, Stainbrook said.
Instead, she said it has applied for more grants through the air pollution control district and state to purchase a second electric school bus.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
