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Thread: Electrifying school buses in New York State

  1. #1
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    Electrifying school buses in New York State

    An interesting cost-benefit analysis report.

    New York is getting charged up for shift to electric buses
    Districts must move away from diesel by ’35
    By Barbara O’Brien
    NEWS STAFF REPORTER


    The Bethlehem Central School District, outside Albany, was one of the first in the state to decide to add electric school buses to its fleet. The district bought five of them last May. But Bethlehem is learning an old lesson: It’s not easy being green. The buses have yet to be delivered. “Our time has been pushed back, just due to supply chain issues,” said transportation director Karim Johnson.

    The move to electric vehicles of all kinds has been accelerating in recent years, driven by concerns about the climate and health effects of internal combustion engines – and the carbon dioxide they produce – and by the soaring price of gasoline.

    The same is true for diesel buses, which also emit harmful emissions. Electric buses may be less expensive to run over the buses’ lifetime. That’s why New York State is mandating that all school districts start purchasing zero emission buses in five years.

    There are about 50,000 school buses in New York, and the state wants all the yellow buses on the road to be zero emission by 2035. “We are going to lead the nation in removing school buses from the fossil fuel footprint,” State Sen. Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, said. But there are questions about the sticker price, and the feasibility of the buses in large rural districts as well as the industry’s ability to make enough of them.

    Bethlehem made the decision to start going electric last year, before the state mandate. “With the commitment of New York State moving forward, we’re in a very good place to be ahead of the curve when it comes to electrification,” Johnson said.

    And electric buses are catching on throughout the country. Boston announced plans to convert its 700 school buses to electric by 2030, starting with 20 buses next year, and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority expects its first electric buses to arrive later this year.

    Buses perform well in the cold, manufacturer says

    Bus manufacturer Blue Bird said its electric school buses perform well in cold weather. “They are designed with thermal management systems, which effectively maintain both battery temperature and cabin heat,” Britton Smith, senior vice president of electrification and chief strategy officer, said in an email. “With respect to operating electric school buses in large geographic areas, such as those in upstate New York, with proper school bus route management and planning, electric school buses can meet the needs of the overwhelming majority of school bus routes today.”

    He said since most school buses are not in operation between the morning and afternoon routes, they can be recharged during the middle of the day. The company has electric buses operating in North Dakota, Minnesota and Quebec.

    Smith said his company has been producing zero-emission school buses since 2018 and, anticipating the rising demand for electric vehicles, is “taking the necessary steps and making investments to increase our EV production capacity for up to 30% of our expected bus sales by 2024.” The company expects more than half of its sales will be electric buses in the second half of this decade.

    Ramping up production is one key. Another is cost. “Electric buses cost two to three times a normal bus,” said Richard Timbs, executive director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium. It’s something that Bethlehem knows well. Bethlehem Central expected its buses to arrive by January, but the delivery date now is early June.

    The list price of one of the 70-passenger buses in the Bethlehem district was $363,000, and the district received a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for $200,000 for each bus, for a net cost to the district of $163,000, Johnson said.

    A comparable diesel bus costs about $135,000 to $140,000, he said. The district estimated it would cost about $37,000 less to operate an electric bus versus a diesel bus over a dozen years, but since it doesn’t have the buses yet, it does not have actual data on the cost of maintenance and electricity needed to charge the buses.

    The state is including $500,000 in the environmental bond act to help schools acquire the electric buses and charging stations. The bond act goes before voters across the state in November. Congress also is providing $5 billion over five years to help fund zero- emission buses through its Clean School Bus program.

    Kennedy said the state is funding the infrastructure, as well as investing in the workforce to make sure mechanics have the skills to work on the buses and will not be displaced by the new technology. State law also allows districts to apply for a one-time extension of up to 24 months to comply with the 2027 deadline to purchase only electric buses.

    The Bethlehem district plans to buy just one electric bus this year to add to its 130-vehicle fleet, because the price is higher than a diesel bus. The district also installed five fuel charging docks for the buses, and voters approved fuel charging stations for up to 43 more buses. Bus maintenance workers and drivers also must undergo training before working on or driving the buses, Johnson said.

    “I think the turnover to electric, while environmentally it may be more sound, I think it’s going to be real growth experience, real problematic for school districts,” Timbs said.

    Another benefit of moving from diesel to electric will be felt in public health. Trevor Summerfield, director of advocacy at the American Lung Association in New York, noted that diesel school buses are a leading contributor to air pollution and climate change. The Lung Association estimates the change will generate $68.2 billion in public health benefits and result in up to 6,200 avoided deaths and 159,000 avoided asthma attacks.

    But they are not without drawbacks. Without the diesel engine, it’s hard to hear the buses. That’s why many manufacturers are adding a noise generator that emits a sound at low speeds to alert kids at the bus stop.

  2. #2
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    I'm seeing a lack of math skills, as always, from NYS. So, an electric bus will save $3083 per year, but cost $223,000 more. That's a ROI of 72 years. That doesn't even take into consideration charging stations, repairs, training or anything else.

    Let's say a district has 100 buses. They will need to spend an addition $22.3M in order to save $308k. Instead, that $22.3M could generate $1.12M annually at a meager 5% return and reduce the tax load.

  3. #3
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Later tonight I will send a link to blue bird's electric bus cost savings PDF.

    The numbers work if you include their $167,000 federal grant in their calculations. They also left off the battery replacement cost in the 15 year example they used. I believe their website said you get 3000 cycles from the batteries or 10 years.

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    "Federal Grant"

    Excess tax money that we didn't need to collect.

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