Photo: Action News 5 / WLBT 3
A few Mississippi school districts are considering trying out electric buses for their fleets, according to a report from Action News 5.
While the electric buses have higher price tags than gas, some counties are applying for grants to help fund some of the purchases. Still, some expect the saved costs to add up in a few years, with the buses eventually paying for themselves in gas and maintenance savings.
One such program is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean School Bus Program, and Chickasaw County officials have officially applied for the subsidy.
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“The grant program is our biggest avenue right now,” Chickasaw County Superintendent John Ellison said. “But we do believe that over time, you’re gonna see enough savings and diesel and all to make up some of those costs. We applied for 11 [buses]. We’re supposed to hear back, I believe, this month, how the grant went.”
If Chickasaw County gets all 11 buses it applied for, that would replace around a third of the district’s fleet.
Similarly, administrators in Lauderdale County applied for around “half a dozen” of the buses as a pilot program of the emerging technology.
School districts in California, Massachusetts and New York, among other states still, have also begun piloting programs with electric school buses.
