The yellow buses that line up after school in the Ralls County School District look almost identical. Only two of them are not like the others: they run on batteries.
“They're not as loud as the others,” said Ian Joiner, a ninth-grader riding one of the buses driven by his father, Eric Joiner.
The rural school district in northeast Missouri is one of the first in the state to receive electric buses from the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Program. The federal initiative has sent at least one electric bus to almost every US state with thousands more to come. So far, the federal government has invested $1.8 billion in the program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and promises to replace more than 5,000 buses.
As more school districts try this new technology, criticisms are coming.
“Well, I'm in love with the buses so far,” said John Wiles, director of transportation at Shawnee Public Schools, on the tribal lands of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee, Oklahoma. “Of course they had their little tricks and their problems. I think every bus we get brand new has bugs from the factory…but once they were repaired, the buses ran great.”
Tristen Rouse
/
Public Radio St. Louis
Tristen Rouse
/
Public Radio St. Louis
Wiles has been thinking about the electric transition for a few years and even attended an electric bus conference in Indianapolis last summer. His district has two electric buses so far and is expected to receive two more next month.
“I don't mind being at the beginning of something new and innovative,” Wiles said.
One of the biggest differences he's noticed is how quiet the buses are — he wonders if that might lead to fewer student behavior problems on the rides. Wiles said he was also looking for ways to limit air quality issues for students' health.
“A major advantage is the fact that these produce zero emissions so they can sit in the queue waiting for the kids to come out without creating any kind of breathing problems,” Wiles said.
Lower greenhouse gas emissions from electric buses could also help slow climate change. It takes about one-third as much carbon dioxide to build and operate electric buses as compared to their fossil-fuel counterparts, according to Environmental Protection Fund. This can vary depending on the composition of local electricity generation.
Tristen Rouse
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Public Radio St. Louis
Although there are many advantages, there is one big disadvantage – the price.
A new electric school bus can cost about $375,000, which is about three to four times more than a new diesel bus. Provinces must also install expensive charging infrastructure, which is covered by the grants but it can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000.
However, over their lifetime, the buses are expected to generate savings. Electric power is less expensive per mile compared to diesel. Maintenance is also cheaper, in part because the buses don't need oil changes and regenerative braking reduces brake changes. But those savings don't offset the initial cost, at least not yet.
District officials are doing the math as they apply for EPA grants — and many say if they had district money to spend, they wouldn't have bought electric buses.
“I'm not, you know, a save-the-planet guy,” said Jeff Dix, superintendent of Albert City-Truesdale in northern Iowa. “I think we should think about all this. But you can't spend four times, three and a half times what you would on a normal bus just to feel good about it.”
The Dicks school district acquired an electric bus in December through an EPA grant. She recently fell for a bus driver and said the kids are especially excited about how quiet the bus is. During the recent cold snap in the Midwest, the electric bus kept going, consuming a little more power but not enough to cause a problem.
But overall, Dix said without the grant, he couldn't justify buying the expensive buses.
“We actually have a solar array that provides electricity to our entire building,” Dix said. “But that made sense. That pays for itself in eight years.”
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Public Radio St. Louis
That's why this federal program is so important, according to Sue Gander, director of the Electric School Bus Initiative. Her organization is part of the World Resources Institute and is pushing for the entire US fleet to go electric.
“Federal money, particularly in the last couple of years, has really helped make that momentum possible,” Gander said.
Through the EPA program and others, Gander said about 8,500 electric school buses have been promised or delivered to school districts across the country. That represents a big increase in recent years, but it's still a small fraction of the 480,000 US school bus fleet.
Back in Ralls County, Transportation Supervisor Eric Joyner drives one of the electric buses through a typical route on country roads between fields. Its drivers are on gravel more often than pavement in the 350 square mile area.
Joiner is really excited about these buses.
“I think it's fun — I like driving a school bus more than my own personal vehicle,” Joiner said with a laugh.
But he also had some negative experiences. He gets what some call “range anxiety” on his long, rural drives. once his battery dropped to 8%.
“When you start getting that low, you start to panic a little bit, especially when you have kids on board,” Joiner said.
Tristen Rouse
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Public Radio St. Louis
There are also challenges specific to rural areas. Because their routes are so long, Ralls County drivers sometimes park their school buses at their homes overnight, reducing the total driving time, which is regulated by the state. This is not possible with electric buses which have to be charged at the local bus garage overnight.
“It cuts down on drivers' time. It's less time that our drivers are on the road as well, especially when you come across rural communities,” Joiner said.
That, along with a technical problem that put one of the buses out of service early, makes it difficult for Joiner to recommend the vehicles.
Still, he says this program was great for cash-strapped rural school districts, mostly because it meant free buses.
This story was created in collaboration with Harvest Public Media, a partnership of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. He reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
