Electric School Bus Guide and Showcase for New York Communities
Electric school buses offer significant environmental and health benefits to communities, but adoption can be expensive and complicated. During Phase 1, the team will engage community groups and develop a comprehensive framework for a School Bus Electrification Guide to enable school districts and fleets to assess and plan for electrification. The Guide will provide valuable information and actionable solutions for electrification including business, technical, and community benefit criteria and will inform Phase 2. Phase 2 will implement electrification, showcase projects that advance the market, and drive investments in disadvantaged communities. Phase 2 learnings will be used to update and complete the Guide.
In Phase 1, the team will engage school bus municipalities, school districts, owners and operators, and the disadvantaged community groups serving their service territories to characterize the school bus market in New York and barriers to electrification. Our team will create a draft of the Guide to inform these stakeholders of the opportunities for electrification and the technical, business, and community strategies to electrify. The partnerships will be aligned and a budget developed to establish the Phase 2 parameters and objectives.
In Phase 2, the team will showcase the recommendations of the Guide in select disadvantaged communities. These showcase project(s), including up to 36 electric school buses being put into operation, will pilot the recommended solutions of the Guide and report on the results, including business solutions, operations and maintenance best practices, and the environmental and quality of life benefits in the selected communities. The pilots will in turn support the finalization of the Guide and will serve as models for other school bus electrification projects across New York and other places.
Another aspect of our proposal is to engage with community colleges and other institutes of higher education in disadvantaged communities. Select schools will be offered a consulting role through student-led capstone projects that support development of the Guide.