January 25, 2024
Provided image/School District of Philadelphia
With new funding from the EPA, Philly public schools plan to buy 20 all-electric school buses, which are cheaper to maintain but often more expensive to purchase.
More electric school buses will soon be rolling through the streets of Philly.
The School District of Philadelphia said it would double its existing fleet of electric buses by 2027 with new funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. The $7.9 million grant will cover the costs of 20 additional buses, bringing the total up to 40.
The district currently operates about 330 school buses.
Its first electric school buses were deployed during the 2021-2022 school year. Made possible through another federal program, those five all-electric buses were the first in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Upon their debut, the school district pledged to purchase an additional five buses each year, with the goal of making 20% of its fleet zero-emission by 2026.
"The EV buses have positively impacted our bus fleet," Teresa Fleming, deputy chief operations officer for the School District of Philadelphia, said in a release. "Our bus chauffeurs have embraced their deployment into our fleet, and have said the EV buses are great. They provide a comfortable and quiet ride for staff and students."
Although all-electric school buses look identical to their diesel counterparts, they have fewer rotating and moving parts, which make them cheaper to maintain. They also are quieter, though their upfront costs are typically higher. The Environmental Defense Fund found that the total cost ownership for an electric school bus over 12 years was 10% higher than diesel buses, but noted that prices are expected to lower through technological advancements.
The school district's latest funding is drawn from the federal Clean School Bus Program, an initiative created to dispense $5 billion to school districts around the U.S. by 2026. Through rebates or grants, districts receive funding to replace their existing buses with low- or zero-emission models. To date, the program has awarded nearly $2 billion to over 600 schools, equivalent to about 5,000 school buses.
The EPA also awarded the William Penn School District and three additional school districts in western Pennsylvania grants to purchase 100 electric buses.
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