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 propane or any other fuel.
Read on for five reasons they are better, plus a fun cartoon of Ellie Electric and Paulie Propane, and upcoming conferences at which I hope to see you. First, please know about two webinars on the upcoming ESB funding: one tomorrow, April 27, 10 a.m. PST, 1 p.m. EST, presented by the EPA, register here. I also recommend a May 10 ESB webinar on the same topic that’s co-hosted by Alliance For Electric School Buses and World Resources Institute; register here.
1.) ESB’s ensure fuel price stability. Propane prices are volatile, as are gas and diesel, because they are all petroleum-based, and vulnerable to global markets. All those fuels have risen in price since the war in Ukraine started, for example. Electricity, in contrast, is produced here in the U.S., sometimes very locally, and changes little in price. Stable fuel prices are good for bus fleets.
3.) Propane buses block future funding. ESB’s attract it. Every school bus purchased lasts 15-20 years, so we’ve got to think long-term, not short-term. Both the private sector and the public sector are investing billions of dollars in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, because electricity is the cleanest, most efficient fuel, and electric is the future. We’re not seeing billions invested in propane infrastructure. Most propane buses, ironically, aren’t dirty enough to qualify to be replaced with current funding sources. Fossil fuels (propane is a fossil fuel) are being phased out, in the same way that old-fashioned, hot-burning light bulbs have been replaced by cool-burning, energy-efficient LED’s. Propane school buses at this point are like compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s) – they were a big step forward when first invented, but are now of the past.
4.) ESB’s train the work-force with durable skills for the clean energy economy described above. ESB’s also protect mechanics and drivers from tailpipe emissions (they have no tailpipes). School districts, like everyone these days, struggle to recruit and retain good employees. Propane buses keep workers stuck in old skills based on the internal combustion engines that are being phased out. The state of New York, for example, has decided to replace all its diesel school buses, including in its rural districts, with electric by 2035.
To be fair, when I interviewed Allen Walz, the Transportation Director of Brookings-Harbor School District in Oregon, I gained insight into propane’s popularity. He has a 22 bus fleet in a rural area, seven propane, the rest diesel. “I’m saving $4,000 per bus per year with propane over diesel, between cheaper fuel and way less maintenance. Plus you can stick your nose up the tailpipe [of propane] and not die. . . . But I like electric, I like the whole philosophy of it. Sure, you can help me apply for funding for my first electric school bus . . . Is my school board supportive? Well, they need to see electric not cost any more than my current buses.” Keep reading.
5.) ESB fleets will eventually support electrical grid resilience. Propane will not. Power outages due to extreme weather events (especially wildfires here in the West) are increasingly common. While propane fuel is useful to communities when grids go down, it has no power (ha!) to run electricity into a building or to support the electric grid, itself. Vehicle to grid (V2G) and, more locally, vehicle to building (v2B) transfer of energy is unique to electric buses. V2G and V2B create resilience as our climate goes haywire, and V2G can also eventually generate revenue for school districts. That last is part of why Highland is financing entire fleet transitions from diesel to electric, keeping school bus fleets’ current costs the same as buses age out and get replaced. Maybe I’ll introduce Allen of Brookings to them for a chat.
Upcoming ESB related Events
Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Conference May 9th-12th in Long Beach, CA. I plan to attend, but I’m disappointed that 100% of the featured speakers are white, and 83% are male. This is 2022. Where is the advanced part here? To clarify, I like men (so much!) — however! Female, Black and brown people abound in this country, and should logically show up on any given panel. I question that seniority is the best criteria for speakers, because we’ve all heard excellent speakers who are not senior, and dull speakers who are. I know ACT can do better on speakers that reflect our population! My WASBE co-founders and I (see below) are willing to help ACT (and any conference) find good, diverse speakers on ESB’s and EV’s. Please, no more manels (male-only panels) nor whanels (white-only panels).
Women Accelerating School Bus Electrification (WASBE) Forum, online, Thursday May 19,, 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern. If you’re a woman in ESB’s and not yet one of the 130 women to whom I just sent an invitation, reply to this email so I can send you one. Malinda Sandhu of Lion and Susan Mudd of the Environmental Law and Policy Center and I co-founded WASBE last year; this is the fifth forum we’re hosting.
Oregon Pupil Transportation Association (OPTA) Conference, June 20-21, Welches OR. This is Oregon’s annual school bus conference, and I love going to it. Almost every state has such a conference. Very valuable for ESB advocates to attend these, however much or little involvement with ESB’s a state currently has.
Roadmap Conference June 29-30, Portland, OR, by Forth. (Note: happy to report I’ve joined Forth as an employee to lead their ESB work, a separate hat than the hat I wear as I write this newsletter.)
CABSE Institute (California Association of Black School Educators), July 10-13, Napa, CA. Focusing this year on implicit bias, which I’m sure I have despite my best efforts. A good reason for me to attend.
Green Bus Summit, July 15-20, Reno, NV, by School Transportation News
Green Transportation Summit and Expo, August 16-18, Tacoma, WA. I’ve co- proposed an ESB session for this regional conference along with my ESB colleagues Gilbert Blue Feather Rosas and Jon Jantz (fingers crossed).
Finally, I’m impressed by this new report on ESB’s by Erik Curren of Secure Futures, which is experienced at installing solar arrays at schools and is now facilitating ESB’s as well (these are a great combination when you can get the funding).
Financial support for this newsletter is provided in part by the World Resources Institute. While the World Resources Institute may engage as a partner on content, it does not control, nor does it necessarily endorse, the contents of this newsletter.
Feel free, as a number of readers have done, to reply to this e-newsletter with comments and your own experience and knowledge. Special thanks to Rachel Chard of CALSTART and Alissa Huntington of World Resources Institute who provided research and insights for this issue. Collaboration and free-flow of information is how ESB adoption will take off. It’s already taken off.
Alison Wiley (she/her/hers)
Electric School Bus Newsletter
“To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together.”
– African proverb