Colorado’s school districts seem to be engaged in a healthy competition—who can deploy the most electric school buses? Boulder Valley School District has 13 electric buses; Cherry Creek is about to deploy its first six; Aurora Public Schools has seven and is about to receive six more.
However, it’s only logical that the state’s largest school district should have the state’s largest electric vehicle bus fleet. Denver Public Schools recently announced plans to add 25 e-buses to its fleet, as local TV new show 9News reports.
The district already has three electric buses, so adding 25 more will make e-buses 12 percent of the nearly 300-bus fleet, which drives a collective 12 thousand miles per day. Grant funding covered the $11-million price tag for the buses and associated charging infrastructure.
DPS bus driver Ayana Evans told 9News that she’s looking forward to the lack of loudness. “It’s going to be great for the environment, and I’ve heard that kids actually tend to be quieter on electric buses because they don’t need to raise their voice over the engine.”
“This will give us the largest fleet of electric school buses in the state of Colorado,” said Tom Wildman, DPS Director of Sustainability. “We’ve got no exhaust coming out of these buses, which is obviously going to benefit the students that ride in it, the schools that they pull up to, but also everyone who lives in this wider community. Especially with all the air pollution issues that we have here in Denver and along the Front Range, that’s a significant contribution to driving down problems with respiratory health.”
Samora also noted the welcome savings on diesel fuel. A typical diesel bus costs the district $6,800 per year in fuel. Each of the electric buses is expected to cost the district only $1,900 a year in fuel costs.
Source: 9News
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