I don’t know about you, but I learn better and faster in person than I do via Zoom screens. And I constantly have more to learn about electric buses, the adoption of which is accelerating on both the public transit side and the electric school bus side.
This short June issue gives news of three upcoming, in-person conferences involving electric buses, with registration links, plus a webinar on funding for e-buses that’s specific to Oregon. I’ll also call in a top organization whose conference panels consistently reflect the U.S. population and demographics of bus passengers, i.e., they include women and people of color.
In chronological order:
Oregon Pupil Transportation Association Conference (pupil transportation means school bus), June 28-30 in Bend, OR. Register here. I’ll be there! Almost every state holds a similar conference, generally near the end of June. Two of the three major manufacturers of electric school buses (ESB’s), Lion and Thomas Built, will each have one of their ESB’s at OPTA to ride and drive.
Electric Bus Funding Webinar (Oregon only) 10 am – 11:30 am, Wednesday, July 7, presented by the Electric Bus Learning Project that I created and co-lead with Neil Baunsgard. Register here. Includes panelists from Diesel Emissions Mitigation Fund (Volkswagen settlement money, application deadline Aug. 31) and the Electric Mobility Fund, (Pacific Power, application deadline Aug. 31). While this webinar is Oregon-specific, anyone can benefit from this article that gives an overview of ESB funding strategies.
Stepping out of upcoming conferences to note best practices shown at Roadmap, a recent past conference I attended, I just chatted with Jeff Allen, Executive Director of Forth. He confirmed that Forth expects itself to include women and people of color on all its panels, a key performance indicator that “leads to much better conversations and results”. I especially appreciated the panel below.
Green Transportation Summit, August 16-18 in Tacoma, WA, presented by Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition. Register here. I’m eager to hear from panelists I know and respect such as Kelly Hoell from Lane Transit District, Eric Huang from Forth, Ruthie Norton from CTE (a former colleague of mine) and Erin Galiger who is newly with ROCSYS EV Charging Automation.
Zero Emissions Bus Conference, September 15-17, Denver, CO, presented by Center For Transportation and the Environment. Register here. This is the only conference I know of focused solely on electric buses. I plan to be there, and highly recommend you attend if you can.
This Electric Bus newsletter has a collaborative connection with School Transportation News (STN). For example, STN editor Ryan Gray collected suggestions from me on diverse panelists for its last Green Transportation Conference. And Ryan’s invited me to write a guest blog post for them. I’m happy to now also be connected to School Bus Fleet (SBF), which interviewed me about the Electric School Bus Tour of Oregon here, and has reprinted my Electric Bus newsletter of February 2020 (Six Principles For Combining Electric Buses and Equity). SBF also plans to reprint my piece How To Speak Utility, designed for public transit and school bus fleets that are starting to electrify or, crucially, to plan for it.
Alison Wiley (she/her/hers)
I am on the ancestral lands of the Multnomah, Chinook and Cowlitz peoples.
Whose land are you on?