This story by Jason Starr was first published in The Williston Observer on Nov. 21
The Champlain Valley School Board approved the lease of six new electric school buses on Tuesday to be stationed at Allen Brook School in Williston.
The buses will join two existing electric buses at the K-2 school, representing a small but growing fraction of the Champlain Valley School District’s 60-bus fleet.
“We eventually would like to get to a 50-50 mix,” school district chief operations officer Gary Marckres said.
While electrics are more expensive to purchase or lease than gas-powered buses, they are less expensive to operate and maintain, Marckres said. They are also quieter and emission-free. The six new e-buses are manufactured by Thomas Built Buses, a subsidiary of the German company Daimler Truck. They are due to arrive next year for at least a 12-year lease, with an option to extend or buy out.
“They are more environmentally friendly than a diesel bus,” Marckres said. “We think it’s a responsible decision to integrate them into our fleet.”
Included with the lease will be a row of new charging stations in the Allen Brook parking lot that are able to push electricity back into the Green Mountain Power grid when the buses are not in use. Allen Brook has been home to the district’s electric bus fleet because of its charging infrastructure. Like the existing two electrics, the new buses will continue to serve mostly Williston students. But as the fleet grows, the use of electric buses will be spread throughout the five-town school district, said Marckres.
The district’s existing two electric buses, manufactured by the Canadian company Lion Electric, have been on the road for three years. There have been kinks with their heating system and charging stations, Marckres said, but those have been ironed out.
“The buses have been pretty reliable,” he said. “The drivers like them.”
The school district was awarded a $1.2 million Clean School Bus Program grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for the buses and partnered with a Massachusetts company called Highland to procure the buses and install the charging stations. Per the contract, Highland will cover charging costs and any repairs outside of routine maintenance.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Six new e-buses coming to Williston’s Allen Brook School.