District begins use of electric school bus

The conversion to electric service vehicles continues in Santa Cruz with electric school buses.

SANTA CRUZ >> The conversion to electric service vehicles continues in Santa Cruz with electric school buses.

Santa Cruz City Schools got its first electric bus about a year ago, but it carried no passengers as the start of the pandemic followed shortly after. Now that students are back to school campuses, the school district is getting ready to load passengers for the first time, with another electric bus expected to join the fleet in the near future.

“It’s really, really exciting. Twenty-five kids are set up in this, so far,” said Transportation Supervisor Emil Frates said. “We’re due to receive a second one in May.”

Both buses also have improved safety features, according to Frates. They come with seatbelts for the students to wear and have cameras on the exterior to capture anyone who ignores the stop signals when the bus is unloading students.

The bus also runs quieter, which will allow students to converse more easily. It also features regenerative braking, which will recharge the buses batteries when the bus slows down, according to Frates.

The school district has limited the capacity to the new bus to 25 students due to COVID-19 restrictions. The true capacity of the new bus is 71 students, which is comparable to diesel-powered school buses that hold roughly 80 passengers, according to Frates.

The second electric bus the district acquires will be smaller. The bus will be optimized for students with higher needs, Frates said. The second bus will feature a wheelchair lift in the back of the bus and more room for the driver to be able to help students to their seats.

“I think it’s the best design I’ve seen so far,” Frates said. “It’s a game changer in special needs.”

The buses have also been a game changer for the school district’s budget. The first, full-sized bus, and eventually the second higher needs bus, are funded by outside agencies. A typical diesel bus costs around $190,000, while electric buses are more than double that price at $400,000, according to Frates. However, the addition of the new buses won’t ding the school district’s budget.

SCCS received grant funding for the school buses through a Monterey Bay Air

Resources Board incentive program. A portion of the program is funded by Monterey Bay Community Power with a $1.2 million contribution, according to a June 2020 release from the board.

The money will fund $200,000 grants for six districts across Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, according to the board. The remainder of the costs are funded by grants.

“The resourced board out of Monterey are providing one a year it looks like,”

Frates said. “Thank goodness for the Monterey Bay Air people. Without that, the buses would have to come out of the general fund.”

However, the fund does much more than provide the buses to the school districts. The program also sets aside funds for EV charging stations for the buses. MBARD will provide an additional $20,000 for school districts in need of building charging stations, according to the release.

That is an important part of the program, Frates said.

“I think electric is the future,” he said. “I just hope they can generate enough power for all these electric vehicles coming out.”