Rural Challenges for Electric School Buses

July 8, 2022

Let’s talk about rural bus fleets, which comprise the bulk of EPA’s 7,000 plus prioritized school districts. The priority makes sense in that most rural areas have economic hardships. Their wages, property tax bases and therefore school district budgets are all smaller. Service, parts, emergency services and health services are all harder to access in rural areas due to […]

EPA Clean School Bus Application Screenshot

June 16, 2022

Below is a screenshot, for reference purposes only, taken June 15, 2022, of the (easy!) EPA application for Clean School Bus Program funding. Deadline to apply in this round is August 19, 2022. You can only access the application by being registered at sam.gov. You can fill out the application in stages — I’m told it will save […]

Three Key Tips for Landing Electric School Bus Funding

May 28, 2022

With Federal Clean School Bus Funding for 5 years (2022-2027), my advice: apply for ESB funds whether or not you’re on EPA’s prioritized list. Why? Many of the prioritized districts won’t yet be interested. Also, the EPA may expand each round’s funding well beyond the current pot if spurred by enough applications (their program is for […]

Why to choose Electric over Propane School Buses?

April 29, 2022

Hello colleagues, I’ll be transparent about my agenda: I want the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program to be flooded by applications this summer for electric school buses ( ESB’s). It’s true that propane buses run cleaner and quieter than diesel, and cost way less than electric. But electric is solidly better for our kids, communities and climate than […]

Earth Day 2022: A Great Success!

April 27, 2022

We know not all heroes wear capes, but these two earth day heroes sure are rocking theirs! photo credit: www.thesaltyboob.life First, a huge thank you is in order to all who showed up to participate in our first large in-person gathering since 2019. Seeing folks together again, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and celebrating Earth Day […]

Electric School Bus Glossary

March 18, 2022

As we all work to electrify school buses it can be challenging to keep up with all of the acronyms and terms that get thrown around. From Kilowatt to V2G here is a start of a resource to help you navigate this transition. Glossary of Acronyms ARPA: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Federal stimulus package […]

A Conversation Between Dusty Diesel and Ellie Electric

We have 1,738 electric school buses (ESB’s) are currently funded, ordered, delivered or operating in the U.S. (CALSTART). But 95% of the nation’s nearly half million school buses are diesel. Lots of tension when new technology meets incumbent technology. Just for fun, let’s imagine how these buses might talk to each other in the bus yard. Ellie […]

Funding coming available in 2022 for Electric School Buses

March 15, 2022

My ongoing mantra is that buses in general are great (they make public education possible!). I also love the people who drive them, ride them and work on them. Electric school buses (ESB’s) are especially great, because they support the health of all those people and their communities, plus the climate we all share. But, […]

The Money Cannon for Electric School Buses

January 11, 2022

At a recent school bus conference Jackie Piero of Nuvve noted, “There is a money cannon getting ready to be shot out of Washington D.C. for electric school buses” (ESB’s)” Federal ESB funding, along with how equity and raising up disadvantaged communities should, and probably will, be central to how this funding is administered nationwide. […]

Ten Tips on Electrifying your Bus Fleet

December 6, 2021

The electric bus world is growing rapidly, with more purchase orders being placed for them weekly, massive federal funding for them being proposed, and Manufactures announcing new manufacturing plants. If you are working to keep up in this complex field, and also to learn to be an anti-racist ally, so am I. If only one of those describes […]

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Category: Electric Vehicles