Strides in Vehicle to Grid Technology Continue

By: Taylor Ekbatani

1 October 2025 at 23:23

Vehicle to-grid charging, while still in relatively early phases, is gaining traction across the school bus industry in both the U.S. and Canada.

The promise of V2G technology was frequently discussed in the early days of electric school bus adoption. However, few operations have been successful in giving power back to the grid at levels first promised, with only a handful of projects making headlines.

One such example is from The Mobility House, which announced a “successful implementation” of a V2G charging system at Fremont Uniﬁed School District near San Francisco, California. The company has several V2G projects around the U.S., including in New York and Massachusetts, that follow the same scalable approach.

“We were confident in our approach because of our deep experience in implementing V2G projects worldwide, and in school bus fleet electrification here in the U.S.,” said Alex Macharia, VGI program manager at The Mobility House North America. “It was important to establish trust in the technology and in us as an organization from our first conversations with [Director of Transportation Ernest Epley and Fremont]. Ultimately, we found that we were closely aligned on the mission to go beyond electrification by enabling clean reliable transportation that serves the Fremont USD student body while also improving grid resilience to benefit the community.”

Macharia noted that like all V2G projects, the one with Fremont required careful coordination and planning with utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to obtain service expansion and interconnection. One of the recurring challenges with V2G, he said, is the functional compatibility between the vehicle, charger and charge management system, or CMS.

The CMS system at Fremont is developed by The Mobility House. According to a press release, ChargePilot manages daily smart charging of the buses, which the fleet operator can view can via an online dashboard. The market aggregation platform receives notiﬁcations from PG&E of an upcoming load reduction event via OpenADR, (a communication standard for utilities to provide control commands to distributed energy resources such as batteries and solar inverters) and suggests optimal charging schedules based on the event and time-of-use electricity prices, the release adds.

ChargePilot also adjusts charging optimization for the bus ﬂeet to discharge power to reduce site load during the emergency event, while continuing to ensure vehicle readiness for departure on their next route, noted The Mobility House.

“We have come a long way in developing standardization within the technical interfaces, and this project will be showcasing methods of V2G deployment using open standards, which will resolve some of the complexity,” Macharia said, adding that the Fremont project is currently deployed under the PG&E Emergency Load Reduction Program with insights expected toward the end of next year.

By then, The Mobility House expects to have a full season of ELRP data.

“Program participants are compensated based on how much energy (kWh) or demand (kW) is reduced as compared to a baseline,” he continued, explaining that other partners included the World Resources Institute, Center for Transportation and the Environment, and Polara. “Thirty to 60 hours of events will be called per season (May to October). Events are one to five hours long called between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.”

Fremont remains in the first phase of the project, with phase two expected to come online this fall. That phase will include the use of six bidirectional chargers.

“As more bidirectional vehicles and chargers come to market, and more utilities begin to offer V2G programs in their territories, The Mobility House will be at the forefront of deploying commercial and residential V2G solutions,” Macharia said.

Meanwhile, Fremont’s Epley said the decision to move toward V2G was driven by both sustainability goals and operational efficiency.

“We wanted to do more than just adopt electric buses. We wanted to maximize their value,” he said. “V2G technology allows us not only to reduce emissions and provide students with a cleaner ride, but also to turn our fleet into a flexible energy resource for the community. That dual purpose, educational and environmental impact paired with fiscal responsibility, was central to our choice.”

He noted that he is not an engineer or utility expert and is instead a “bus driver in a suit who happens to now lead transportation.” Because a project of this size is outside of his area of expertise, Epley said it is important to lean on partners such as PG&E and The Mobility House.

The companies, he added, handled the complex utility upgrades and charger integration, while he was able to continue to focus on daily operations.

“It was about mutual trust. They respected our school mission, and I trusted their technical know-how,” he said. “That’s how we made sure the infrastructure rollout matched our existing buses.

Epley said there were many practical and technical questions to answer. Among them, how would V2G impact battery life? What does the interconnection process look like with the utility? What are the financial models for energy export and savings?

“The Mobility House brought expertise in energy management, while PG&E provided clarity on grid requirements and tariffs. Together, they demystified the process and gave us the confidence to move forward, knowing the technology was both viable and beneficial long-term,” he added.

It’s too early to track financial outcomes, he said, but by discharging energy back to the grid during peak demand periods and charging during off-peak times, Fremont projects a reduction of net charging costs.

“Just as important, the technology is helping us flatten our energy demand curve, which benefits both the district and the grid,” Epley said, adding that the district’s vision is to scale in a deliberate and sustainable way.

The next two electric school buses and additional chargers are scheduled for 2026.

“Even as funding landscapes shift, we’re positioning [Fremont] to demonstrate that electric school buses are not just a pilot project, but a long-term operational norm,” he said. “The integration aligns with our district’s sustainability plan: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering operating costs and setting an example for students on how innovation and responsibility can go hand in hand.”

Epley shared the response from the community and parents has been overwhelmingly positive, with parents appreciating that their children are riding in buses that are cleaner, quieter and healthier for the community.

“Neighbors see us contributing to local grid stability rather than just drawing power” he said. “And students themselves are excited to see their school district at the forefront of clean technology. It becomes a teaching moment. That community support reinforces that we’re not just upgrading buses, we’re helping shape a more sustainable future for Fremont, California.”

Elsewhere, Tucson Electric Power is launching a V2G project this fall. And Fuse Power launched the first V2G electric school bus project in Canada. “Fuse is supplying power back to the grid during peak hours from parked electric trucks and buses. This milestone marks a major step forward in the future of vehicle-to-grid innovation,” according to a company Linkedin post.

The post Strides in Vehicle to Grid Technology Continue appeared first on School Transportation News.

Amid ‘Unprecedented Degree of Uncertainty,’ CARB Proposes Two Pathways for Emissions Regulations

School Transportation News

By: Ryan Gray

25 September 2025 at 17:06

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) proposed an emergency action to continue enforcing engine emissions regulations because it says federal government efforts to undo them could result in the sale of vehicles that are not certified to any standard.

As California’s lawsuit continues against the Trump administration, challenging the presidential executive order in January directing federal agencies to terminate state emissions waivers and a resulting revocation of those waivers through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) signed into law in June, CARB said it wants to provide regulatory certainty and flexibility to manufacturers. For school buses and trucks, manufacturers could meet the Omnibus Low-NOx regulation adopted in 2020 or the previous regulation that met the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency levels set in 2010. The CRA this spring revoked three waivers, one of which allowed CARB to set a new level of 0.05 g/bhp-hr of NOx.

The public had five business days from Monday’s announcement to weigh in on CARB’s intent to enact its Emergency Vehicle Emissions Regulations by filing comments with the state’s Office of Administrative Law.

The emergency regulations do not address the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which the CRA also revoked an EPA waiver for.

“The amendments would confirm that, until a court resolves the uncertainty created by the federal government’s actions, certain antecedent regulations (displaced by Advanced Clean Cars II and Omnibus) remain operative (as previously adopted) with the caveat that CARB may enforce Advanced Clean Cars II and Omnibus, to the extent permitted by law, in the event a court of law holds invalid the resolution purporting to disapprove those waivers,” the proposal reads.

In other words, manufacturers would be able to continue certifying engines under either the earlier-adopted emissions standards or the more stringent standards.

CARB noted that most engine and vehicle manufacturers have already planned on or achieved compliance with the more stringent emissions requirements. But CARB also warned that manufacturers choosing to certify to previous emissions levels assume the risk of having engines out of compliance with regulations, should current legal cases brought against the Trump administration go in California’s favor.

Cummins spokeswoman Drew Blair told School Transportation News that it was premature to respond in detail to CARB’s proposal, as it was not final. But she added Cummins is following the issue closely.

“Cummins is focused on delivering products with the power and performance our customers need to get their jobs done, while also meeting emissions requirements,” she commented. “We also will continue to advocate for national standards to bring clarity to our business and customers and ensure efficient and affordable products are available to power their needs.”

Earlier this month, a group of vehicle manufacturers led by Daimler Truck North America, the parent company to Thomas Built Buses, filed a suit against CARB, claiming the agency would need to re-enact previous legislation before it could enforce earlier emissions regulations.

“In the event the vehicle manufacturer’s claims were deemed correct … then CARB must take immediate action to maintain a stable vehicle market in the state and prevent the sale of vehicles into the state that would not be certified to either set of standards …,” CARB writes. “… Otherwise, in light of these unprecedented circumstances, there may remain questions — for the first time since CARB’s program began decades ago — as to whether any California standard is in effect.”

A Daimler Truck spokesperson said Wednesday the company could not comment on CARB’s proposal.

International, the parent to IC Bus, signed onto the Daimler Truck lawsuit. An International spokesman declined comment because the litigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, CARB said Tuesday 23 percent of new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales in 2024 were zero emissions, more than double the minimum statewide requirement. The data is based on 30,026 zero-emission trucks, buses and vans reported to CARB by manufacturers. School buses are included in the reporting.

It was the fourth year in a row that ZEV sales increased. More than 57,000 ZEVs have been sold in California since 2021.

The post Amid ‘Unprecedented Degree of Uncertainty,’ CARB Proposes Two Pathways for Emissions Regulations appeared first on School Transportation News.

GreenPower Hits Delivery, Financial Uncertainty Amid New Mexico Electric School Bus Pilot

School Transportation News

By: Eric Woolson

5 September 2025 at 17:42

Electric school bus manufacturer GreenPower Motor Company signed a multimillion-dollar contract with New Mexico for a pilot program at the same time it is facing obstacles with a similar West Virginia project and perilous corporate finances.

The company announced Aug. 4 that the $5 million-plus New Mexico contract resulted from an award made by the state under a request for proposals published in May for participation in a two-year, all-electric school bus pilot project. GreenPower stated the project would deploy three Type A Nano BEAST school buses during the 2025-2026 school year, and three Type D BEAST and Mega BEAST school buses in the coming months.

Those vehicles, the first three scheduled for deployment the week of Sept. 15, are expected to “rotate around the state in five pilot rounds each school year with each round lasting six weeks.” The company, which is partnering with Highland Electric Fleets to install and implement the necessary charging infrastructure, will also provide training for the school bus drivers, mechanics and the community’s first responders to “help ensure a seamless testing period.”

GreenPower President Brendan Riley said via a press release that the New Mexico project is “leveraging the successful pilot that GreenPower conducted in West Virginia but also has a concentration on evaluating charging options and infrastructure.”

At the same time, GreenPower has faced several headwinds this year in West Virginia with a similar contract that also began with a pilot. The electric school bus manufacturer took ownership of its South Charleston plant in August 2022 and eight months later entered into an agreement with the state to sell $15 million worth of BEAST and Nano BEAST models. The state also agreed to pay GreenPower a $3 million deposit.

Separately, GreenPower and the state signed an agreement for an additional $18.6 million in ESBs awarded by the EPA Clean School Bus Program in 2024 to seven county school districts.

But West Virginia Metro News reported last month GreenPower had only delivered about a dozen of the promised 41 ESBs as of this past spring.

The state claims breach of contract. GreenPower CEO Fraser Atkinson said the reality is far more nuanced. During a phone call Thursday, Atkinson told School Transportation News several factors have hindered the company’s ability to deliver the ESBs.

“We have either delivered or we had vehicles ready to go, to be delivered to every single one of those counties,” he said.

Among the issues, Atkinson added, some school districts have not signed required documents with the EPA and GreenPower’s West Virginia dealer, Matheny, to accept the ESBs. In at least one other case, Atkinson said a county did not have available the older diesel school bus EPA required to be scrapped, so the new ESB couldn’t be delivered.

“Even if the dealer came forward and said, well, don’t worry about this other part, let’s just deliver the vehicle, you still have to worry about it,” he added. “We [would not be] compliant with the program.”

He also noted some counties still don’t have electric infrastructure installed. While GreenPower could still deliver those school buses, Atkinson noted that ESBs can’t sit in a parking lot for months on end without being operated like internal combustion vehicles can.
“There’s a much higher level of ongoing maintenance that you need to have on these vehicles if you’re not using them almost every day,” he added.

A West Virginia official contacted by STN declined comment because the issue is ongoing, and a request for comment from Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office had not been answered at this report.

Hiccoughs With State Inspections and Maintenance

Meanwhile, Atkinson said some counties are having success with GreenPower. But not all say they are. Tony Harris, transportation director for the Monongalia County Schools serving the Morgantown and surrounding area, said the state’s second-largest district received a GreenPower Beast and a Nano Beast, which met his expectations at first.

However, he added, “We have been working with the West Virginia Department of Education, Department of Transportation and GreenPower in regard to a few issues where the buses do not meet the state specifications for a school bus.”

Harris clarified that the unmet state specifications center on failed state inspections for items such as the parking brake release, the color of loading light switches, non-working window defroster fans, and controls for exterior mirrors not working.

Atkinson said GreenPower has worked closely with the state on specifications but commented that not all state inspectors may have the same perspective on what constitutes an out-of-service item, especially as this could be their first experience with an electric school bus.

Still, he noted that any issues keeping school buses sidelined are “a concern.”

“Is there an educational process? I think you’re absolutely right. In hindsight, if all the parties had been in the same room 2 1/2 three years ago and worked through [the issues] …,” he said. “But the flip side is, until you’re actually in the field looking at these things in real time, you probably couldn’t have guessed what all the different issues or potential considerations that needed to be discussed are at the outset. It is a bit of trial and error.”

Harris also expressed disappointment about school bus-related services, which is “an area that has not come close to meeting expectations set for all vendors.”

“We have not been able to obtain stock inventory to have on-hand when something breaks on one of the buses,” he continued. “We have requested training several times for our mechanics on how to service the buses for our preventative maintenance schedules. The mechanics have received some training when representatives have been onsite to address issues when they have been onsite, but no formal training has been provided.”

He said training has so far consisted of what to do in the case of a battery issue or fire.

“A lot of the preventive maintenance items are typical in all school buses, but there are some unique things when it comes to EV school buses,” he said. “Also, we have no access to software or manuals to diagnose problems when they arise. We have requested these products at different times. We have these products for other bus types.”

Atkinson commented that GreenPower is very concerned about any high-voltage work necessary on its school buses.

“Our approach is, until they’re up to speed with the basics, we like to or prefer to take responsibility for anything that could be related to the high-voltage battery system,” adding dealer Matheny has limited experience working with GreenPower’s technology.

Harris said that the district has had to adjust its operations “considerably” after the delivery of the buses.

“We have two of the Nano BEAST buses in our fleet that have run no more than a month on routes since we took delivery of them. These buses have less than 3,000 miles on each of them,” he said, adding the school buses serve special needs and McKinney-Vento student populations. “We have four of the BEAST buses in our fleet, and one has been off the road since June due to defects found during an annual state inspection of the bus. The other three BEAST buses have been taken off the road [last] week due to issues that do not allow us to continue to use them at this time. By taking these buses off the road, it has impacted our bus routes due to the capacity of the buses and not having the same size buses in our spare bus fleet. The one BEAST bus has just over 4,000 miles on it, and this is because it was part of the state pilot program. The other three have less than 3,000 miles on them.”

Meanwhile, John Droppelman, director of support services with the Mineral County Schools, said in an email, “We have not received our two GreenPower buses. We have not received any information from GreenPower in quite some time. I do not expect to ever receive the promised buses. Information about the production and distribution of the GreenPower buses is scarce.”

Atkinson commented, “It’s the early days and there are things that have to get sorted out.” But he continued that, across the electric school bus market, he sees some school districts that have yet to buy-in to electrification, which complicates matters.

“If you have a good partner, they’ll work with you, and they’ll get the vehicles to a place where they’re just not encountering many issues or problems,” he said.

At the same time, GreenPower has been unable to fully staff its South Charleston manufacturing facility. The agreement with West Virginia listed the goal of 900 jobs filled by the end of last year.

“We don’t get paid a cent until a bus is delivered,” Atkinson told STN.

In turn, he added, the company cannot promise its plant workers the necessary weekly hours.

The West Virginia MetroNews Network reported May 26 that confirmed more than a dozen employees had been notified by email three days earlier that they had been laid off. The company did not confirm the exact number of employees who had been laid off, but the network quoted GreenPower’s Riley saying, “The imposition of new tariffs has significantly increased our operational costs and disrupted our ability to build and deliver buses in a timely manner.”

He added that restructuring and other cost-cutting measures were not sufficient to prevent the layoffs.

MetroNews reported last month that GreenPower indicated it employed fewer than 100 workers even before the spring layoffs.

Resulting Financial Uncertainty

Amid all of this, BDO Canada LLP released its independent audit of GreenPower as of March 31, which stated that “the company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has an accumulated deficit that raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”

A statement by GreenPower issued in July of its financial status at the time noted that revenues for the fiscal year that ended March 31 fell 49.5 percent from the previous year — down from $39,271,839 to $19,847,279 — and experienced a total comprehensive loss of $18,511,895.

GreenPower contends that tariffs are “causing much harm to the entire school bus manufacturing sector. This business instability and the significantly increased costs impacts all school bus manufacturers whether they are producing electric, diesel, propane, or gas school buses. The implications are staggering. If a school bus manufacturer were able to pass these costs on to a school district, it would amount to a tax on the government as the cost would be paid by either local, state or federal government funding.

“But a school bus original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cannot pass on the increased cost since there are state contracts in place for the purchase of school buses,” the company continued. “The new tariffs leave no pathway for a school bus OEM to build vehicles in the U.S., and it completely halts GreenPower’s efforts to on-shore and friend-shore the supply chain, especially non-Chinese battery cells and components.”

An interim Q1 2026 earnings statement released Aug. 15 for the period ending June 30 showed gross revenue fell by 48 percent from the same period last year to $1.549 million, with gross profit at $361,682 after deducting the cost of sales, which actually represents a 63 percent increase from June 2025.

But the statement notes Greenpower anticipates it will not be in compliance with the minimum debt service coverage ratio at the end of the current fiscal year because it has not generated positive EBITDA in the previous four quarters. The outstanding balance on the term loan facility was $3.59 million as of June 30.

The interim statement echoed the warning of the auditor this spring.

“The company’s ability to achieve its business objectives is subject to material uncertainty, which casts substantial doubt upon the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” it says.

Ryan Gray contributed to this report.

The post GreenPower Hits Delivery, Financial Uncertainty Amid New Mexico Electric School Bus Pilot appeared first on School Transportation News.

Report: Inequities in Canadian Electric School Bus Transition Threaten At-risk Populations

School Transportation News

By: Ryan Gray

4 September 2025 at 14:59

With 2.2 million Canadian students back in school via the yellow school bus, a new report by the Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance (CESBA) highlights the need for equity of access and funding to make the transition to electric school buses a successful one.

Fewer than 4 percent of Canada’s 51,000 school buses, about 2,000 vehicles, are currently electric. But 70 percent of school buses on the road are set to be replaced in the next two to seven years, the report emphasizes.

Embedding Equity in Canada’s Transition to Electric School Buses calls on federal and provincial policymakers to ensure no one is left behind during the country’s move toward zero-emissions school buses. It identifies challenges faced by indigenous communities, students with disabilities and under-resourced areas in accessing ESBs. Adoption remains “significantly lower” in indigenous and remote communities nationwide, due primarily to cost barriers.

“We want to make sure that provinces roll out some financial incentive for electric school buses because right now just for the deployment there are absolutely no guidelines that force school bus operators or school districts to prioritize electric school buses in communities where there is more pollution and where they’re actually underserved,” lead author Valerie Tremblay of Green Communities Canada, a co-coordinator of CESBA, told School Transportation News.

The paper notes most ESBs range from $400,000 to $600,000 per bus compared to $125,000 for a diesel model — and related infrastructure, which proves especially challenging for indigenous and remote communities that already have higher transportation costs and barriers to funding. For example, transporting a student in northern Alberta costs $1,279 compared to $363 in urban areas, according to a report on education transportation needs prepared for the Assembly of First Nations, an advocacy group for indigenous people across Canada.

School bus contractor Switzer-Carty is a CESBA member company and currently operates two, 2018 model-year, Type C ESBs from the former Lion Electric. Those buses transport general education students, said Rich Bagdonas, vice president of business development for Switzer-Carty. But funding is also at issue.

The federal government targets 35 percent of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sales to be zero emissions by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040. The Zero Emissions Transit Fund (ZETF) covers capital and planning costs, while the Zero Emissions Vehicle Infrastructure Program funds chargers.

But Bagdonas pointed out that Ontario, where Switzer-Carty mainly operates, does not currently offer provincial funding programs or incentives though the company is exploring other local options.

Tremblay added ESB funding and deployment has so far focused on Montreal and Quebec, where 80 percent or about 1,600 ESBs operate, and other urban cities. Quebec also mandates nearly two-thirds of school bus fleets be electrified by 2030. British Columbia operates about 150 ESBs and also offers incentives, noted Bagdonas, as the province also aligns with California’s mandate that all trucks and buses be electrified by 2036.

Further illustrating the challenge, the report shares that Prince Edward’s Island also has no funding program currently in place despite targeting 100 percent ESBs province-wide by 2030. It had been relying on funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank Zero-Emissions Bus Initiative, but those funds are now exhausted.

The report recommends revising provincial and federal budgets to cover higher upfront ESB costs and better support small fleet operators.

Tremblay and associate Nicole Roach note that procurement guidelines and safety standards also need updating to ensure universal bus design and a wider range of school bus models that provide accessibility and inclusivity for all. For example, they call for standard wheelchair lifts for students with disabilities.

Tremblay and Roach write that Type A school buses now offer increased range, the prior lack of which had posed “significant challenges,” but supply remains constrained with only a few models available in Canada. The availability of Type C school buses equipped with wheelchair lifts “has the potential to ease some of the equity concerns tied to ESB adoption, especially for smaller operators or school districts,” they write.

Then, there is the obvious reduction in exposure to diesel emissions, which not only improves health but also provides better academic outcomes and school attendance. The report cites findings from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and the National Bureau of Economic Research in Massachusetts.

The report also considers the entire lifecycle of electric school buses, from resource extraction to manufacturing, adoption and use to disposal, and calls for intentional planning to ensure the transition benefits all communities, especially those on indigenous lands. Canada is a leading global producer of many critical minerals essential for ESB production, with mining predominantly located in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.

Meanwhile, the report also notes the need for improved working conditions by increasing wages and operational funding for school transportation staff, “as electric buses provide cleaner and quieter environments but may limit extra income opportunities due to range constraints.” This includes workforce development to expand ESB maintenance training programs that address skill gaps and job losses in the transition.

In addition to newly manufactured ESBs, the report recommends funding pilot projects to convert diesel buses to electric, preventing the export of decommissioned buses to countries with weaker safety standards, policies for adopting safe recycling of electric vehicle batteries and strengthening protections in mining practices to respect the rights of indigenous people and address human rights abuses linked to Canadian mining companies.

The post Report: Inequities in Canadian Electric School Bus Transition Threaten At-risk Populations appeared first on School Transportation News.

WRI Research Highlights Monetary Health Benefits of Electric School Buses

School Transportation News

By: Taylor Ekbatani

28 August 2025 at 21:34

New research published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Carleton University finds that the U.S. could see an estimated $1.6 billion in societal benefits every year by using electric school buses.

This first-of-its-kind data released Wednesday accounts for the cost of using diesel-burning school buses as compared to using electric school buses, measured by two metrics: Health impacts and climate effects. WRI stated that by “comparing these costs at the local level, the data provides annual societal benefit figures in dollar terms for every county in the contiguous U.S.”

People in every state would experience positive benefits from ESBs, the research suggests, but it would be most pronounced in countries operating the oldest-burning school buses, and in communities with higher proportions of people of color and in countries with larger populations and dense, urban areas.

Still, the research indicates New York, California, Florida and Texas are poised to benefit the most from ESBs. However, nearly every county nationwide stands to benefit by using electric school buses, with the study finding more than $509,000 in average annual benefits per county and some counties seeing more than $30 million in societal benefits each year. Annual benefits vary by county based on school bus fleet size, population density, electricity fuel type mix, and age of the current diesel fleet.

“For years, communities in New York have experienced outsized impacts of diesel pollution,” commented Matt Berlin, CEO of New York City School Bus Umbrella Services. “As this new data from WRI proves, school bus electrification makes sense for New Yorkers. Investing in electric school buses means making the bus ride for kids and bus attendants and drivers on the bus quieter and healthier. Beyond the bus itself, reducing pollution near schools and in the communities where we all live means we all enjoy these benefits.”

WRI stated that the research is among the first to “model and quantify the county-level health and climate impacts of using electric school buses instead of aging diesel-burning school buses.”

When looking at the the factors of population health and climate change, the research notes that about 90 percent of the nearly half-million school buses operating in the U.S. run on diesel fuel and the harmful pollutants in diesel can cause respiratory illness, cognitive impairment and cancer, as recognized by the World Health Organization.

ESBs, however, produce zero tailpipe emissions and have the lowest greenhouse gas footprint of any school bus type at the national level, even when accounting for emissions from the associated electricity generation, the research claims. It examines the effects of diesel-burning school buses in operation, as well as the production and distribution of the fuel used.

The health impacts of diesel-burning school buses were estimated by determining the excess mortality associated with exposure to PM2.5, despite federal regulations over the past 15 years that have reduced diesel emissions by approximately 90 percent. The impacts were calculated into dollar figures based on a sociological metric that reportedly looks at how much society is willing to pay for small reductions to the risk of dying from health conditions that may be caused by environmental pollution. The sociological metric is referred to as the Value of a Statistical Life.

Meanwhile, the climate impacts of diesel-burning school buses were measured by calculating the Social Cost of Carbon, an established metric for the societal damage from extreme heat, sea level rise, food insecurity and other impacts of climate change, from these buses’ carbon dioxide emissions. The study notes that because health impacts were measured only by excess mortality from PM2.5, there are likely more health benefits of electric school buses that aren’t captured in this data, including reduced exposure to ozone pollutants, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide (NOx) and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.

Further Studies Needed

A technical note acknowledges several research limitations in addition to only studying excess mortality of PM2.5 and recommends additional environmental analysis and higher resolution modeling in urban areas. The study does not address environmental justice or equity benefits of ESBs and disparities in air pollution based on race, ethnicity or income, the latter which the researchers said could reveal additional ESB benefits for marginalized communities. The research also makes assumptions about brake and tire-wear emissions and relies on “not yet mature” ESB operational parameters and emissions based on data from 2020 that does not account for changes in fleet composition changes, vehicle standards and the electricity grid. Additionally, benefits per ton remain consistent between 2016 and 2020 and “may not fully capture changes in atmospheric composition or emissions.”

Once the costs of diesel school bus impacts were determined, the research calculated the same types of impacts for ESBs, including electricity generation, and compared them to that of diesel to provide a dollar figure from each county.

Brian Zepka, research manager for WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative said the research used a new modeling approach to trace air pollution back to its source, “allowing us to directly attribute which health impacts stem from diesel-burning school buses. While other approaches start with the air pollution source and estimate its impact, this approach, developed in peer-reviewed research funded by the Health Effects Institute, starts with the health impacts, like early deaths from air pollution, and traces that pollution back to its source—in this case, school buses.”
WRI noted the research “uses state-of-the-art models and county-level data to more specifically estimate where electric school buses would provide the most health and climate benefits through reduced emissions. It doesn’t look at the cost to own or operate different types of school buses, instead examining the impact on society from the use of the buses.”

Sue Gander, director of WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative, said the new research shows “undeniably” that ESBs give kids a cleaner ride to school.

“In every region of the country, North, South, East and West, communities stand to see real, significant benefits from the cleaner air and reduced emissions of electric school buses. And as this research demonstrates, everybody wins when kids get to school on a clean ride, to the tune of $1.6 billion dollars every year in health and climate benefits nationwide,” she said. “Given the outsize benefits of electrifying the most polluting diesel-burning school bus fleets, and the concentration of those buses in low income areas and areas with more people of color, this data reinforces the need to ensure that those most impacted by diesel exhaust pollution are among the first to benefit from electric school buses.”

The 10 percent of diesel-burning school buses that are the most polluting are responsible for nearly 50 percent of the total health impacts of diesel-burning school buses nationwide, the research notes. Breaking that down by per-mile health impacts from diesel school buses, while varying, results to under $10 to nearly $4,000 per 1,000 miles driven, depending on the school bus age and operating location.

While the research only focused on PM2.5-related premature mortality as the primary health end point, diesel-burning school buses also emit large amounts of NOx, which contribute to ozone formation and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure—both are linked to asthma, morbidity and additional premature deaths.

The research does not include the additional health effects or impacts of other diesel pollutants. WRI stated the research is likely underestimating the total benefits of electrification. Incorporating NOx-related outcomes in the future could show greater contrasts between diesel and electric.

The post WRI Research Highlights Monetary Health Benefits of Electric School Buses appeared first on School Transportation News.

(STN Podcast E271) A Lot of Uncertainty: IC Bus VP & GM Discusses What Customers Need to Know

School Transportation News

By: Claudia Newton

26 August 2025 at 21:40

Tony and Ryan discuss regulatory updates, the importance of vendor partnerships, a sensationalized incident involving a Texas school bus, and this year’s Garage Stars.

Charles Chilton, vice president and general manager of IC Bus, discusses his engineering and school bus driver background, navigating the uncertain clean bus market, and supporting IC Bus customers.

California Doubles Down on Zero-Emission Vehicles with Renewed Affordability, Adoption Priorities

School Transportation News

By: Ryan Gray

25 August 2025 at 07:00

A new report reaffirms California’s commitment to zero-emission vehicle adoption and deployment despite attempts by Congress and the Trump administration to remove federal waivers that provide the state authority to cut pollution levels within its borders and elsewhere.

The state currently is involved in multiple lawsuits challenging the administration’s efforts to revoke the waivers approved by the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency and others.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released the report last week in response to Gov. Gavin Executive Order N-27-25 in June that directs CARB and several other state agencies to recommend strategies that make clean transportation more affordable, reliable and accessible. The report outlines strategies to expand the adoption of Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) across all vehicle types, including school buses, as part of the state’s broader effort to combat air pollution and climate change.

The report highlights California’s leadership in clean transportation, noting that the state has already surpassed its goal of deploying 2 million ZEVs. With 56 ZEV manufacturers operating in the state and nearly 178,000 public or shared private electric vehicle chargers installed, California is setting the pace for the nation.

However, the CARB report notes that five of the 10 most polluted cities in the U.S. are in California, and millions of residents still live in areas with dangerously high ozone levels, especially in the Los Angeles area and the San Joaquin Valley.

To address these challenges, CARB recommends actions across six key areas: Private investment, incentives, infrastructure, fuel pricing, regulations, and procurement. CARB seeks to sustain the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program that utilizes credits from 200 participating companies and from utilities to subsidize clean fuels like renewable diesel and to continue taking advantage of other existing funding programs. It recommends backfilling the federal clean air vehicle tax credits that are set to expire at the end of next month and providing “reliable and consistent funding” to the agency and the California Energy Commission for ZEV deployment and infrastructure incentive programs.

Noting that infrastructure remains one of the largest barriers to ZEV adoption, the report highlights the need for increased reliability of and access to EV chargers, including timely repair. CARB also recommends streamlining permitting processes and utility energization timelines. This includes implementing flexible service connections and other strategies to eliminate delays in EV charging installation.

CARB also calls for unlocking the benefits of V2G by improving the energization process to enable vehicles to power homes and businesses or to export power to the grid during peak demand periods. This includes developing utility rates “that align EV charging and discharging with grid needs” and establishing incentives to automakers that build EVs that can provide backup power. CARB also writes that standards are needed for chargers to enable the use of vehicle-grid integration.

School buses are directly impacted by the state’s push for ZEV adoption. The report emphasizes the need for incentives and infrastructure to support the transition to zero-emission buses. For school districts, this could mean additional access to funding programs that make it easier to replace aging diesel buses with electric or even hydrogen-powered alternatives. Additionally, CARB says the focus on building reliable charging infrastructure could alleviate concerns about fueling capacity and range limitations.

For companies operating school buses, the report’s recommendations present both opportunities and challenges. The emphasis on private investment through programs like the LCFS could provide financial incentives for operators to transition their fleets. Additionally, the state’s focus on workforce development could help create a pipeline of skilled workers to maintain and operate ZEVs.

However, the transition will require careful planning. CARB states operators will need to navigate new regulations, invest in charging or fueling infrastructure and ensure their fleets meet the state’s reliability and durability standards. Collaboration with state agencies and local governments will be key to overcoming these hurdles.

The CARB report also notes 17 other states and the District of Columbia have chosen to adopt at least part of California’s vehicle standards. The demand in these states for clean transportation collectively represents 40 percent of the nation’s new light-duty vehicle market and 25 percent of the nation’s new heavy-duty vehicle market, which are three to four times that of California alone. In addition, three of these states have established complementary regulations similar to California’s LCFS to further advance the clean vehicle market.

The post California Doubles Down on Zero-Emission Vehicles with Renewed Affordability, Adoption Priorities appeared first on School Transportation News.

Safety Concerns of the Electric Grid?

School Transportation News

By: Carol Brzozowski

6 August 2025 at 16:22

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) warns blackouts could increase by 100 times in 2030 if the nation “continues to shutter reliable power sources and fails to add additional firm capacity.” The forecast is a driving factor for school transportation departments seeking to incorporate cleaner alternatives for fueling buses.

The DOE report “Evaluating U.S. Grid Reliability and Security” released July 7, fulfills Section 3(b) of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order “Strengthening The Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid,” designed to deliver a uniform methodology to identify at-risk regions and guide federal reliability interventions.

- The report finds the current path—retiring more generations without dependable replacements—threatens both grid reliability and the ability to meet growing AI-driven energy demand. Without intervention, the bulk power system cannot support AI growth, maintain reliability, or keep energy affordable.
- Projected load growth is too large and fast for existing grid management and capacity planning methods to handle. A transformative shift is urgently needed.
- The retirement of 104 giga-watts (GW) of firm capacity by 2030, without one-to-one replacement, worsens the resource adequacy challenge. Loss of this generation could cause major outages during unfavorable weather for wind and solar.
- While 209 GW of new generation is projected by 2030, only 22 GW would be firm baseload power. Even without retirements, the model found increased risk of outages in 2030 by a factor of 34.
- Current methods for assessing resource adequacy are outdated. Modern evaluations must consider not just peak demand, but also the frequency, magnitude and duration of outages, and model increasing interdependence with neighboring grids.

“Though demands on the electric grid are increasing, we do not foresee a meaningful logistics problem for school transportation directors,” noted Michelle Levinson, the World Resources Institute’s senior manager of eMobility Finance and Policy. “The report headline averages numbers across the whole of the U.S. The risk of additional outages is low and is brought up by high assumed data center demand in Electric Reliability Council of Texas and in PJM South (Virginia and Maryland).”

Levinson commented that the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates electricity customers on average experienced approximately 5.5 hours of electricity interruptions in 2022.

“Even if all these outages occur on school days, which is unlikely, outages would account for only 0.19 percent of the hours when a bus is in the yard and potentially charging,” she added. “Luckily, transportation directors are already accustomed to navigating the impacts of electric outages on their fueling capabilities through their experience with liquid fossil fuel pumps, which also needs electricity to function.”

Levinson acknowledged change can be “scary” and the transition to electric school buses requires a shift in logistics but should not be a problem in and of itself and as with all logistics comes down to planning.

Overnight and midday down times of most school buses offer substantial opportunities for directors to charge batteries in advance of any conditions that might indicate higher grid risks, such as extreme weather events, she added.

However, others warn that even a short outage will greatly disrupt transportation operations. The DOE’s predicted blackout rate “introduces serious questions about how to keep buses moving in the face of growing grid instability,” noted Joel Stutheit, senior manager of autogas business development at the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC).

“The school day is built around a routine,” he continued. “Imagine what happens to that routine if the grid goes down as often as this DOE report suggests. If a transportation director is relying on an electric school bus fleet, blackouts could leave them unable to charge buses and reliably transport students. Even a short-term outage could introduce last-minute scheduling changes, rerouting [of] buses, and adding extra pressure on drivers and operations teams.”

Transportation directors need to shift from thinking about the electric grid as a guarantee to thinking about it as a variable for which they must plan, Stutheit said.

Ewan Pritchard, the chief subject matter expert on school bus electrification for consultant Energetics, said he believes the intent of the report was to make electric vehicles look bad.

“The DOE’s report is politically charged,” he shared. “My company is the evaluator for the electric vehicle infrastructure program for the state of California. My team is collecting data from all the vehicle charging stations across the state of California that are put in by the electric utilities. We track the time of usage of all of those stations, and we issue a report annually on the progress.”

The team’s work, he said, demonstrates electric school buses can benefit the utility grid — a shoring-up effect in the sense that it depends on when a school bus is plugged in.

For example, it can be a problem if school districts charge electric vehicles between 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., actively drawing power from the utility grid during peak demand times when usage and prices are highest, he noted.

Instead, Pritchard recommended school transportation departments would do well to use charge management systems, which essentially keep track of the strain on the utility grid, the cost of electricity and carbon production.

Doing so saves districts money, he added.

“We’re seeing tremendous change in the way people are charging vehicles, especially when it comes to school buses, because school buses have a very predictable schedule,” Pritchard said. “There’s plenty of time between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. to recharge their vehicles.”

A Back Up Plan?

The challenge of student safety is “likely not as extreme as the report makes it seem,” Levinson agreed.

“If operators have not charged their vehicles ahead of a significant outage event, battery capacities may be low or zero, meaning this particular type of transport would not be able to run its typical route,” she pointed out. “School may not be in session in the event of such a significant outage.”

Alternatively, schools districts may find that electric buses can provide an additional level of safety and resiliency for students and communities during extreme events when the larger grid is out, Levinson said.

“Localized microgrid capabilities that connect bi-directional buses and essential school or community facilities are especially relevant in situations where extreme weather conditions isolate people and businesses,” she added.

PERC’s Stutheit, who previously was the director of transportation for Bethel School District in Washington, noted students are immediately impacted if buses can’t operate due to a power outage as “many students rely on transportation to and from school not only for their education, but to access meals and other essential services.”

If the grid goes down due to severe weather, the stakes are even higher for transportation directors to provide evacuations or emergency transportation, Stutheit said, adding student transporters need reliably-powered school buses that can respond quickly to keep students safe.

“Propane autogas buses provide that layer of resiliency,” he argued. “These buses can operate and refuel even when the grid is down. In the event of an emergency evacuation or shelter-in-place situation, propane autogas buses allow districts to respond without waiting on fuel deliveries or power restoration. That kind of reliability supports student safety.”

Pritchard noted most schools have backup generators if power goes out. He said the real student safety issue is when the tailpipe of a combustion vehicle is putting out emissions at that student’s height, adding studies show the concentration of pollutants inside of a vehicle are worse than the concentration outside of a vehicle when it comes to school buses.

“I think it’s more of a student safety issue to not electrify your fleet,” he added.

And then there is the possibility of using electric school buses to power microgrids available to provide surplus power to school buildings.

Getting Smart

To mitigate challenges, school districts should implement smart charging strategies and familiarize themselves with charge management tools and capabilities, Levinson said, adding it is best to charge when the grid is least constrained, such as overnight or midday when there is the most solar production.

“School districts can also create standard operating procedures and emergency management procedures. They can also conduct emergency preparedness drills to practice for such scenarios and identify places for procedural improvements,” she added.

Other steps include identifying additional charging locations beyond the primary charging yard and installing site-level resilience via batteries, solar and/or generators.

Stutheit shared that propane also complements EVs as part of a multi-fuel strategy, as it can be go-to energy in emergency situations when the grid is down. It can also provide transportation directors with an affordable option that won’t need infrastructure updates to keep up with grid instability.

There are ways to lessen the risk from outages that apply to both diesel and electric school buses, involving alternative power from outside the grid, Levinson said, adding grid outages affect all functions, not just charging buses.

“In cases in which electric school buses are vehicle-to-load or vehicle-to-building capable, they can be a potential asset to provide site power to run phones, computers, and HVAC systems during an outage. Increasingly electric vehicles, such as electric school buses, can be part of the grid support solution.”

The post Safety Concerns of the Electric Grid? appeared first on School Transportation News.

(STN Podcast E268) Learning Curve: EPA Surprise, Young Michigan Asst. TD Talks Leadership

School Transportation News

By: Claudia Newton

5 August 2025 at 23:16

Big news as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency looks to eliminate greenhouse gas regulations. How will school bus manufacturers and school districts respond? Also read the new August issue of STN magazine.

Nashawn Craig, assistant director of transportation and fleet at Taylor Schools in Michigan, discusses aspects of leadership including being promoted as a younger person, retaining staff, collaborating with administration and implementing new technology.

Another $200M Now Available for Electric School Buses in New York

School Transportation News

By: Taylor Ekbatani

31 July 2025 at 17:00

The third round of funding through the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 is now available for zero-emission school buses in the state of New York.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced July 22 an additional $200 million distributed through the New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP). The second installment of $200 million was made available a year ago, while the first round of $100 million was announced in October 2022.

The funding covers everything from the purchase of the electric school buses to the charging infrastructure and fleet electrification planning.

“New York State is leaning into our Environmental Bond Act commitment to provide public schools with the funding and resources to make electric school buses more affordable,” Hochul said in a statement. “We are leaving no school behind as we reduce pollution from vehicles so every student can benefit from clean air while building healthier, more sustainable communities for New Yorkers across the state.”

The program is administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), while NYSBIP provides incentives to eligible school bus fleet operators, including school districts and private contractors, that purchase zero-emission buses.

The funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis with funding amounts covering up to 100 percent of the incremental cost of a new or repowered electric school bus. Priority districts identified as high-need school districts and disadvantaged communities are available to receive larger funding amounts.

The deadline to purchase zero-emission school buses in the state nears amid the latest funding round. All new school buses purchased statewide as of Jan. 1, 2027, must be zero emissions and all school district and contractor fleets must be 100 percent zero emissions by 2035. The recently passed state budget extended a deferment until 2029 for school districts that demonstrate their challenges with meeting the mandate.

The NYSBIP defines zero emissions as electric or hydrogen fuel cell school buses, though only the latter are currently available.

The post Another $200M Now Available for Electric School Buses in New York appeared first on School Transportation News.

EPA Proposal Seeks to Eliminate GHG Regulations for Vehicles, Engines

School Transportation News

By: Ryan Gray

31 July 2025 at 00:48

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering the 16-year-old Obama administration ruling on greenhouse gases that formed the nation’s regulatory landscape for transportation emissions, including those for school buses.

The proposed rule rolled out by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Tuesday at an auto dealership in Indianapolis, Indiana could save more than $54 billion annually in manufacturing costs passed on to consumers, EPA said. It claims emissions regulations implemented over the past 15 years created $1 trillion in costs to manufacturing, power and industrial sectors for meeting various emissions requirements.

While the 300-page document does not mention school buses by name, it focuses on repealing GHG emission standards for various categories of vehicles, including the categories of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and engines that school buses fall under. Specifically, it seeks to remove Part 85 on control of air pollution from mobile sources, Part 86—Control of Emissions from New and In-use Highway Vehicles and Engines, Part 600—Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emissions of Motor Vehicles, Part 1036—Control of Emissions from New and In-use Heavy Duty Highway Engines, Part 1037—Control of Emissions from New Heavy Duty Motor Vehicles, and Part 1039—Control of Emissions from New and In-use Non-road Compression-Ignition Engines.

Already, EPA is reconsidering the implementation of its GHG Phase 3 Rule for heavy-duty trucks and buses that is set to start in 2027.

The proposed rule seeks to reinterpret the Clean Air Act, specifically Section 202(a), known as the Endangerment Finding, which concluded that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride contribute to air pollution and endanger public health. The proposed rule argues that the Endangerment Finding is legally flawed, scientifically uncertain and economically counterproductive. EPA claims it was historically applied to address local and regional air pollution, not global climate change concerns.

This interpretation exceeded statutory authority, writes EPA, adding that Congress did not clearly authorize the EPA to regulate GHG emissions based on global climate change concerns “because that provision authorizes regulating only air pollutants that ‘cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.’”

The proposed rule also notes the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in West Virginia v. EPA and Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA that federal agencies cannot assert transformative regulatory authority without explicit congressional approval. Instead, agencies must have more than a “colorable textual basis” to decide major questions of policy.

EPA also questions “unreasonably analyzed” scientific data used to support the original “Endangerment Finding” that declared GHG to endanger public health and welfare. The proposed rule cites projections of global warming increases, health risks from heat waves, and impacts of other health events. It also notes empirical data, peer-reviewed studies and real-world developments since 2009 that “cast significant doubt on many of the critical premises, assumptions and conclusions in the Endangerment Finding.”

The proposal also claims technological limitations in addressing global climate change concerns, as “reducing GHG emissions from all vehicles and engines in the U.S. to zero would not have a scientifically measurable impact on GHG emission concentrations or global warming potential,” according to a May 27 draft report by the U.S. Department of Energy Climate Working Group.

EPA also notes President Donald Trump’s recent “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” repealed certain GHG provisions.

As for economic concerns, EPA highlighted that GHG emissions standards have increased vehicle costs, slowed fleet turnover and reduced consumer access to newer, safer and more efficient vehicles.

Public comments on EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194 are due by Sept. 21.

The post EPA Proposal Seeks to Eliminate GHG Regulations for Vehicles, Engines appeared first on School Transportation News.

Transfinder, RIDE Win Big with STN EXPO Innovation Awards

School Transportation News

By: Taylor Ekbatani

28 July 2025 at 20:38

RENO, Nev. —  Transfinder took home best hardware, software and safety technology awards for the second consecutive year and RIDE won best green technology for the third year in a row, as judged by STN EXPO West attendees during the trade show held July 14 and 15.

The 153 attendees who cast votes in the fourth annual STN EXPO Innovation Choice Awards represented a rise in participation from last year’s 125 votes. Exhibitor and guest votes were not counted. Eligible voters represented school districts, state or federal organizations, Head Start agencies, and school bus contractors.

To be eligible for an entry, participating trade show vendors had to introduce a new, market-ready product between January 2024 and July 2025. STN EXPO attendees voted by scanning a QR code at participating company booths.

The Schenectady, New York, company received 114 votes for Best Safety Technology, 123 votes for Best Hardware and 121 votes for Best Software. It was the fourth year in a row that Transfinder won the Best Software category, the third consecutive year winning Best Hardware, and the second year it took all three categories.

**The Transfinder team at STN EXPO 2025.**

Transfinder entered the three products in all three categories.

Stopfinder Digital Card ID turns a student’s Android or IOS cellphone into their ID card. “This advancement eliminates the need for substituting RFID cards and/or replacing lost costs. This technology augments Transfinder’s parent app Stopfinder, providing parents peace of mind that their child made the bus and tracking the bus’s location,” Transfinder stated in its nomination.

Meanwhile, Transfinder Enterprise includes everything from route visibility to attendance routing, posts to student lookup. Transfinder’s Wayfinder ETA dashboard and real-time capability can now be shared with school building personnel and other stakeholders in Viewfinder. This capability enhances communication. Additionally, using the driver app, Wayfinder, the most efficient route based on student riders can be generated.

“For example, a late bus can have different students riding different days depending on the activities they participate in,” Transfinder stated. “When students scan their ID cards as they get on the late bus, for example, the safest and most efficient route is created for the driver.”

Users can post on any record type, such as student, trip or vehicle to facilitate a conversation around that record. The information is then accessible across all Transfinder solutions.

Transfinder said its map incidents solution tackles a growing concern of students crossing by adding a functionality in Routefinder PLUS to “view where students not just cross the street to get on the bus but what streets they cross on their way to the bus. With PLUS, users can embed trip and street data and logic into their maps and trips, making it easier for routers to design safer trips.”

Transfinder noted, adding the data is then viewed on Wayfinder.

Meanwhile, BYD electric school bus spinoff RIDE was unopposed last month in the green technology category. The manufacturer was attendees’ choice for the third consecutive year, this time for its blade battery (below). The manufacturer won the same category last year for its Type C “Creator” and in 2023 for its Type A “Achiever.” The lithium iron phosphate blade battery features a direct cell-to-pack design, utilizing thin “blade-like” cells that eliminate the need for conventional modules.

BYD says its Blade LFP battery in RIDE electric school buses virtually eliminates thermal events, as it passed nail penetration tests, was crushed and bent, and survived being heated in a furnace to 300°C and overcharged by 260 percent.

The post Transfinder, RIDE Win Big with STN EXPO Innovation Awards appeared first on School Transportation News.

Roundup: Informative Green Bus Summit Held at STN EXPO West

School Transportation News

By: Claudia Newton

25 July 2025 at 19:27

RENO, Nev. – The Green Bus Summit at STN EXPO West was a gathering of enthusiastic minds to discuss the technology and training needed to achieve a clean energy future.

Advancing School Bus Innovation
RIDE

Frank Girardot, senior vice president of electric school bus manufacturer RIDE Mobility, noted during a panel discussion that there is a sales job involved when transportation staff must convince district administration that electric school buses (ESBs) are a good investment.

Craig Beaver, administrator for transportation at Beaverton School District in Oregon, said his ESB journey began with grant writing and utility cooperation. Operationally, he said bus capacity, battery size and the reliability of the OEMs are of utmost importance. Beaverton assigned ESBs to certain routes, not specific drivers. Beaver, the 2024 STN Transportation Director of the Year, said even diesel devotees have come around to appreciate them.

Jim Snow, CEO of Mid-Placer Public Schools in rural northern California, has propane buses and is implementing electric buses. He noted that stacking federal and state funding is key. When choosing buses, he said to prioritize the needs of the students, which for his district means those with special needs.

Meanwhile, Jessica Sevilla, director of fleet and facilities for Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency in California, said that having the right staff, driver and mechanic training, and vendor relationships throughout the process is crucial so everyone feels supported. She advised leveraging futureproofing and AI tools in planning processes.

Rural Elko County School District in Nevada is just starting its electric bus journey with the use of grants and is currently participating in a V2G pilot program, which provides no-cost infrastructure. “We had to look at what was available and how it would meet our needs,” Director of Transportation Seth Canning said.

Jarrett Garife, manager of transportation for the rural Monterey (California) County Office of Education, applauded state funding and underscored the need for driver buy-in. He said he needed to buy a diesel bus to use for driver recertification during the ESB implementation process.

Girardot added that to successfully run operations, rural districts must consider things like route length, bus capacity, temperature changes and staff training. Several panelists said that rural milage challenges were assuaged by using DC fast chargers.

Panelists also agreed that good communication and training for drivers and mechanics is important to a successful ESB implementation. Beaver and Snow noted that drivers need to be specifically trained on things like regenerative braking and handling the extra weight of ESBs with heavy batteries.

Beaver said he eases his team’s trepidation with ESBs by reminding them, “It’s just a school bus.”

1 of 10

^{Images by Vince Rios Creative.}

Fuel of Choice
Blue Bird

Stephen Whaley, alternative fuels manager for Blue Bird Corporation, reviewed the upcoming California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions reduction from 0.2 g/bhp-hr to 0.035 g/bhp-hr in 2027, the disruptive growth of alternative fuels in Blue Bird’s business and why school districts should consider clean fuels.

During a panel discussion he reviewed the stories of Kay Cornelius, transportation director for rural St. Louis County Schools in northern Minnesota, Diana Mikelski, director of transportation for District 211 in Illinois, and Anthony Jackson, executive director of transportation for Bibb County School District in Georgia, who praised propane school buses for their reliability and quiet operation as well as both fuel and maintenance savings.

Chris Horstman noted from his career experience – as a past school bus driver and current director of transportation for Ithaca City School District in New York – that misconceptions about propane and gasoline buses had to be overcome but that both have proved durable. Gas and propane both produced significant savings over diesel, he said.

Andrew Thompson, fleet manager for Boulder Valley School District in Colorado, runs mostly diesel, propane and gasoline. The district later acquired the state’s first electric school bus, which he said was met with some hesitation but did not require complicated infrastructure setup. The plan is to transition to 50 percent electric buses over 15 years. Thompson discussed his DC fast charger preferences and noted the differences between Level II and Level III chargers.

Both panelists agreed that maintenance professionals find the propane buses easier to work on.

Additionally, John Wyskiel, new president and CEO of Blue Bird, took the stage Monday morning, July 14, before magician Jon Petz’s keynote and recapped the OEM’s dedication to safety, demonstrated through the standardization of lap-shoulder belts, driver airbags, LED lighting, collision mitigation systems and more safety equipment. Blue Bird also supports propane and electric school bus deployment, with the most ESBs deployed in the U.S. — 2,500.

He praised Blue Bird’s partners, dealers and employees who help support school districts around the nation and reaffirmed a commitment to continued service in anticipation of the company’s upcoming centennial in 2027.

Your Route. Reimagined.
Micro Bird

Alexandre Ratte, vice president of sales and marketing, recapped Micro Bird’s three generations of quality and safety and reiterated its commitment to progress and growth. Its gasoline, propane and electric solutions are all built in house.

Marc Gravel, general manager of Micro Bird’s electric subsidiary Ecotuned, next revealed that the G5e Type A electric school bus, which was introduced last year at STN EXPO West, is in full production with buses being delivered to customers. This bus was part of the STN EXPO West Ride and Drive event on Sunday evening in the parking lot of the Peppermill Resort Casino.

Two G5e options provide a choice of either 150- or 200-mile range. The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery packs come with an eight-year warranty and the buses can support both fast DC and AC charging. Vehicle to grid (V2G) technology and over the air updates are also supported.

Gravel shared that the G5e endured 100+ degree temperatures on a trip through the Mohave Desert, while also revealing valuable learning lessons about the need for increased charging infrastructure. The bus also performed well in negative 15-degree temperatures in Canada, he added.

Gravel reiterated the company’s dedication to customer service, borne out by the Micro Bird Academy and expert service available across 70 service locations throughout North America.

An attendee takes notes at STN EXPO West 2025. (Image by Vince Rios Creative.)

The Healthy, Cost-effective Route to School Transportation
Propane Education & Research Council

Read full article.

Driving the Future with Cummins: Forging a Sustainable Outlook
Cummins

“Clean energy is our future,” declared Richard Garvin, director of strategy and commercial business development for Cummins.

Francisco Lagunas, general manager for the Cummins North American bus market, reiterated the company’s support for the EV market. “Wherever you are in your electrification plans, we will meet you there – and we have a whole ecosystem to assist you,” he confirmed.

Matt McGinn, senior director of EV sales and business development for Cummins, noted that districts can see current energy market shifts as an opportunity to diversify rather than as an obstacle.

When it comes to future-proofing, Garvin added that securing funding sources like grants is a big part of it. McGinn said that the best solution for each district depends on its location and goals. Senior Gas Sales Executive Emilliano Pantner confirmed that Cummins is there to help no matter what bus or infrastructure combinations a district needs to achieve those goals.

Pantner, who also oversees microgrids, noted that districts should have a good handle on their current data and metrics to then develop a plan for clean energy that also aligns with operational and student needs. Garvin spoke about the patience that is needed for each district’s “Road to Zero,” which for Cummins has an achievement goal of 2050.

“This is going to be incremental rather than rapid,” he said. “We need to be transparent and collaborative to reach those goals.”

Comprehensive training, online resources and customer service are integral parts of Cummins’ offerings, panelists confirmed.

Attendees shared their concerns about rampant parts unavailability and questioned what Cummins is doing at the federal level to support EV funding for districts who have begun their electrification journeys and are now facing funding loss. Panelists confirmed Cummins’ efforts in parts tracking, grant seeking and federal lobbying, though they confirmed that some things in flux are out of their control. Cummins is always open to feedback and dedicated to improvement, they stated.

Innovative Parts Management Strategies, Solutions for Fleet Management
IC Bus

“You guys have a lot going on and we want to come up with solutions that make your life easier and make you better at what you do,” said Alex Borror, sales director for IC Bus parent company International.

He shared how OnCommand Connection now comes standard on all IC Buses and allows mechanics visibility to alerts in real time so they can direct the driver to come in for service if needed. Though its focus is vehicle health, it also tracks GPS and driver behavior to allow for training opportunities. Electric school bus operators, especially, can find valuable insights in the dashboard and related app, Borror added.

He also shared that IC Bus dealers can help locate funding for electric and other types of buses through their Incentive Prospecting Tool. Additionally, Sourcewell is legally aligned with the OEM to help streamline the purchasing process.

Gregory Baze, national parts account manager for IC Bus, revealed feedback that school district maintenance professionals were spending a lot of time on the phone or internet trying to locate parts or putting together standard stock orders.

RepairLink is an ecommerce platform designed to help mitigate those pain points by allowing dealer customers to look up and order the parts they need on their own, at no extra cost. Benefits include time saved, greater inventory availability, real-time order updates, a VIN-based catalog, easy reorder of saved carts, and cost-saving promotions.

Baze noted that this service was a positive development due to the trend toward online purchasing which has made its way over to the school bus industry. Setup, search and ordering are easy, and there is a buyback program.

“We do more than sell buses,” Baze summed up. “If you’ve got a problem, don’t suffer through it alone.”

Attendees asked about whether parts can be tracked, like on Amazon, and Baze responded that technology is progressing quickly, with that feature planned for wide rollout. A question was presented on the shortage of electric bus mechanics from dealers, which panelists said is being temporarily alleviated through satellite service stations while district mechanic training is ramped up. Multiple attendees expressed the need for more ESB training, which Baze and Borror encouraged them to get from their dealers and the IC Bus University.

Powering the Future: Practical Insights for Electric Bus Charging
EO Charging

“EV and school bus make a great marriage,” declared Brad Beauchamp, EV product segment leader for Blue Bird.

Adam Wilkum, North American sales director for UK-based turnkey provider EO Charging, noted that EV charging is an area where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. “Don’t be afraid of vendors,” he quipped.

Marc Riccio, vice president of strategic partnerships for comprehensive charging solutions provider Highland Electric Fleets, pointed out that a flawed infrastructure setup that lacks futureproofing and copious communication with partners wreaks havoc with timelines and budgets. He advised “patience, perspective and persistence” through the process.

Manny Huguez, president of charging technology provider Zerova Technologies, said vendor partnerships cover all bases and help districts not only set up but also optimize their new electrified operation. They must also be carefully chosen since businesses do leave the EV space, as in the case of the recently bankrupt bus manufacturer Lion Electric Company. Districts must be mindful and do their due diligence.

“Pick a partner, not a product,” he advised. “You have to be able to depend on them for the long run.”

Beauchamp reviewed several aspects districts should carefully consider, including Level II versus Level III charger choice and bus to charger interoperability.

Huguez underscored how mission critical such considerations are so students are not left stranded. “We aren’t delivering packages here,” he said. He added that training is being expanded so district mechanics can service ESBs instead of waiting hours for certified technicians to do so.

Riccio spoke on how the fixed schedules and timing of school bus routes, as well as the fact that buses are basically batteries on wheels, makes them ideal for vehicle to grid (V2G) and vehicle to everything (V2X) use cases or emergency response situations where the main electrical grid is down.

The panelists spoke to the ever-changing and improving nature of EV technology and looked to the future with optimism. Beauchamp stated that, despite federal Clean School Bus Program funding slowing down, EV isn’t going anywhere and will continue to grow.

The post Roundup: Informative Green Bus Summit Held at STN EXPO West appeared first on School Transportation News.

EPA Provides Update on Clean School Bus Program

School Transportation News

By: Taylor Ekbatani

22 July 2025 at 21:27

After what felt like the end of the road for the Clean School Bus Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided an update overview, including the anticipation of additional information regarding the 2024 rebate program.

In an email Monday, the EPA reminded awardees of next steps for the rebate and grant programs, provided program oversight and compliance, and shared resources and news.

For the 2022 CSB Rebate, EPA said it completed review of most school bus projects and Close Out Forms, or COF, submitted by rebate recipients. EPA also said it is actively working with selectees to ensure accuracy and completeness. For those who have not completed their COF, the EPA is working with those selectees to ensure it is submitted in an expedited fashion.

Additionally, EPA said it is performing site visits with all 2022 CSB rebate recipients.

Meanwhile, about 50 percent of the awarded funding under the 2023 CSB rebate program has been disbursed. The EPA is encouraging all selectees to submit their payment request forms (PRF) for those projects. If the PRF has not been submitted, selectees must either submit the form as soon as possible or request an extension via the online portal.

Upon completing the PRF, rebate selectees will receive an official funds disbursement email from the EPA, with the money typically available within seven to 10 days. Once selectees receive the funds they must “email the EPA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (EPA-CSB-FinancialReporting@epa.gov) within 10-business days of spending their funds on eligible expenses or passing the rebate funds to a third-party to complete the purchase for eligible expenses,” the EPA stated.

When school buses are deployed and replaced, and infrastructure is installed, the EPA stated that selectees will need to submit their 2023 COF.

EPA also reminded Clean School Bus Program grant recipients of the July 30 deadline for filing semi-annual reports, which cover January through June 2025. The EPA asked that all selectees submit their progress reports to the EPA project officer.

Additional information regarding the 2024 rebate program is forthcoming, EPA said.

The EPA is also hosting various webinars through its Office of Grants and Departments that could be of interest to grant awardees as well as webinars through the Automated Standard Application for Payments.

The post EPA Provides Update on Clean School Bus Program appeared first on School Transportation News.

Propane School Buses Save Districts 50% on Total Cost of Ownership

School Transportation News

By: Claudia Newton

14 July 2025 at 05:57

RENO, Nev. – A Sunday Green Bus Summit session at STN EXPO West featured the opinions of two transportation directors and a fleet maintenance supervisor that use propane in their bus fleets.

Stephen Whaley, alternative fuels manager for Blue Bird, charted how the California Air Resources Board will require heavy-duty NOx emissions to meet the standards of 0.035 g/bhp-hr in 2027. The propane school buses offered by Blue Bird and its drivetrain partner ROUSH CleanTech exceed these standards at 0.02 g/bhp-hr, he said. He also reviewed the safety and abundance of propane autogas as well as the ease of fueling.

Panel moderator Joel Stutheit, senior manager of autogas for the Propane Education and Research Council, asked the three transportation employees who made up the rest of the panel about their experiences with propane school buses.

Peninsula School District in Washington is the third bus fleet that Director of Transportation Dawnette Wright has transitioned to propane. She advised building trust by bringing in vendor partners to answer questions and educate both drivers and mechanics. Her diesel bus total cost of ownership (TCO) is $1.10 per mile while her propane bus is 56 cents per mile. She shared that the $50,319 she saved in one year by using propane buses will enable the hiring of another staff member.

Casey Jebens, director of transportation for Sherwood School District in Oregon, has 40 buses, about half of which are propane. He noted that as a former driver-trainer, he understood the importance of obtaining both stakeholder and staff buy-in on such a project. It wasn’t a hard sell, however. With Sherwood being a small town near Portland, student health due to low air quality around diesel buses was a concern. Fuel cost effectiveness and maintenance ease sealed the deal.

“When the cost to run your propane bus is about half that of your diesel bus, it pencils out very quickly,” he added.

Wright and Jebens underscored the need to communicate with and rely on fuel vendor partners to accommodate unique district needs, access wet fueling via a mobile tanker if needed, and perform necessary maintenance as part of the contract.

Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor Raymond Manalo, Jr., explained that San Juan Unified School District near Sacramento, California is both urban and rural and transports about 1,000 students with special needs. Desiring to diversify the bus fleet and recognizing the lack of support for electrification at the federal government level, the district has recently added 35 propane buses to its fleet. Drivers are skeptical but undergoing expert training and ROUSH CleanTech is training technicians. Wet fueling is taking place as infrastructure is still being planned.

Although there are hurdles in introducing propane autogas to a district that hasn’t experienced it before, Manalo expressed optimism for success through training and partnerships. Shop modifications and specialized training would be more intense with electric buses than with propane, he commented, drawing from his experience as vehicle maintenance manager at nearby Twin Rivers Unified School District, which made headlines for its enthusiastic electric school bus adoption.

All the panelists agreed that there were no significant issues sending their propane buses on the road for regular routes. Jebens said that if anything, older diesel buses elicit more reliability concerns. He added that education helps familiarize the community with the new vehicles as well.

Wright and Jebens expressed appreciation for the cleanliness of propane buses due to lack of particulate matter as well as their quietness, two factors that reduce student behavior incidents.

The post Propane School Buses Save Districts 50% on Total Cost of Ownership appeared first on School Transportation News.

Reading view