Wilkes County Schools (WCS) has become the first school district in Georgia with an all-green school bus fleet, serving its 25 daily bus routes exclusively with zero- and ultra-low-emission buses.
Blue Bird Corp. recently delivered five electric and 12 propane-powered school buses to the district. WCS said its new fleet will significantly improve air quality for students and the surrounding community, while also slashing operating costs.
Blue Bird’s electric school buses generate zero emissions and can carry approximately 60 students up to 130 miles on a single charge. WCS can considerably lower its operating expenses by replacing diesel with electric school buses due to reduced fuel and vehicle maintenance costs. According to Blue Bird, school districts have reported paying 19 cents per mile in energy costs for electric buses compared to fuel costs of up to 79 cents per mile for their diesel buses.
Highland Electric Fleets installed five new Tellus charging stations to support the district’s five electric school buses. These chargers allow WCS to utilize overnight and downtime charging, ensuring the buses are always ready to meet transportation needs.
WCS will also rely on Blue Bird’s propane buses for its student transportation needs. The vehicles can carry approximately 60 students around 250 miles on a single tank of propane autogas. Propane school buses generate 96% fewer harmful emissions than their diesel counterparts, according to Blue Bird.
In addition, Blue Bird said propane-powered school buses help the district lower the total cost of ownership of its bus fleet by realizing fuel and maintenance cost savings of up to $3,700 per bus annually compared with diesel buses. WCS presently operates a fleet of 22 Blue Bird propane buses. Thus, the school district could save more than $1.2 million over the 15-year life of its vehicles.
“We are proud to be among the first school districts in the nation to launch a fleet of all electric and propane-powered school buses,” said WCS Superintendent Michelle Smith, adding that the project partners “have transformed our ambitious vision of clean, sustainable student transportation into a reality.”
WCS received a $2.34 million grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Rebate Program to purchase the vehicles. To date, the program has awarded nearly $3 billion for nearly 9,000 clean school buses.