State looks to school districts for help in reaching zero-emissions goal

Buses carrying students to school and residents to work soon could be fully electric, but the state needs cities and towns to help.

The state of Connecticut signed a memorandum of understanding this week to accellerate changing its larger vehicle fleet to electric.

Under the agreement, 30 percent of all new medium and heavy-duty vehicles would be zero-emission vehicles by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050. This includes large pickup trucks and vans, delivery trucks, big-rigs, box trucks, as well as school and transit buses.

This effort is part of the state’s larger emission target to move greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 2001 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below by 2050.

To meet this, the state will have to rely on municipalities, where the school bus decisions are made. School districts, meanwhile, are faced with uncertainties about these new bus models, existing contracts, higher costs to purchase the buses and needed infrastructure improvements, which could slow the switch.

“The transportation sector is responsible for about 40 percent of Connecticut’s greenhouse gas emissions and about 70 percent of smog-forming air pollution in Connecticut as well,” said Tony Russell, a spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protections. “Reducing emissions from this sector is vital to meeting clean air and climate goals.”

Buses make up about 0.4 percent of all on-road vehicles in Connecticut, but account for 1.39 percent of NOx emissions, 1.53 percent of all PM2.5 emissions and 0.51 percent of greenhouse gas emissions — the major air pollution metrics.

These emissions are harmful to people’s health. Poor air quality exacerbates acute and chronic respiratory problems, such as asthma.

“In Connecticut, as in other states, our most vulnerable residents are hit hardest by the health effects of air pollution, including asthma and other respiratory ailments,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with our partners through this agreement to leverage private sector ingenuity with smart public policy to transition to zeroemission vehicles.”

School buses

Thomas McMorran, superintendent of schools for Easton, Redding and Region 9, said he can see the benefits of the move but he has questions.

“A move to electric buses makes sense for the environment,” McMorran said. “Even with new diesel engines, we are still running many hundreds of miles twice a day.”

He believes the big bus companies, like All-Star Transportation, Dattco and First Student, which his districts use, probably would have to decide to change their fleet first.

“The question is the reliability of the new products,” he said. “Once they have been field tested, I think more districts will be willing to try them.”

This would have to include a variety of circumstances, such as Connecticut winters.

“We know that the traditional bus can operate in snowy afternoons when we have dismissed the schools early as a storm runs in,” McMorran said. “I am not informed about the way an electric vehicle would perform in adverse situations.”

New Fairfield, which also uses First Student, said it hasn’t investigated electric buses. The district still has four years remaining in its contract with all of the vehicles being powered by gas or diesel.

Rich Sanzo, the district’s director of business and operations, said the district would have to decide and, if interested, would have to specify it in a request for proposals.

Region 12 is also in the middle of a contract for diesel buses with All Star Transportation and so hasn’t considered electric vehicles. Any decision would be made with the company while negotiating the next contract, Superintendent Megan Bennett said.

“We would consider any option that would have a favorable environmental impact,” she said. “We would need to evaluate the feasibility of electric vehicles against the unique geography of our region with respect to distance and time of our transportation routes and cost.”

Region 12 is made up of Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington. Though each town has its own elementary school, all three feed into Shepaug Valley School for sixth through 12th grades.

If electric does seem like a viable option, McMorran sees the potential of expanding the districts’ transportation program, especially at the high school level where this could mean more school-to-work experience programs and field learning opportunities.

“On the upside, if our vehicles were electric, and therefore not emitting exhaust, I wonder if districts could explore more of a Uber or Lyft arrangement where buses are routed only to the students who need them, and perhaps would be able to keep looping all day, so high schoolers could be transported to and from school more than twice a day,” he said.

Companies making the switch

Blue Bird, one of the main school bus companies, published case studies this month that examined its use of electric buses in West Fargo, N.D., and Tacoma, Wash.

Both districts received grants for their buses and said that while they were more expensive, the fuel and maintenance savings made up for it and the per mileage costs went down, according to the study. The West Fargo district said it was able to go 100 miles between charges.

Blue Bird has sold more than 200 electric school buses in 13 states since introducing it in 2018. None of these sales have been in Connecticut, though the company has buses in more than 50 districts throughout the state, said Albert Burleigh, Blue Bird’s regional executive director.

“We would be thrilled to be a part of the Connecticut market, and are ready to help anyone who is interested in making the switch,” he said.

The decision to switch to electric would have to come from the district or the contractor serving the district, Burleigh said.

He said the biggest challenges are implementing the infrastructure and finding funding, but the company works with the districts to address both through its “Electric Road Map.” This includes finding grants. The company also helps create a routing plan.

Electric buses generally cost three times as much as a diesel bus, but recoup the amount in fuel and maintenance savings, according to the case study.

Burleigh said, in addition to the economic and environmental benefits of the zero emissions, the buses are quieter, reducing neighborhood noise pollution and helping the driver hear the students better.

Connecticut moving forward

There has already been some progress in the public transportation sector where the state owns or oversees a fleet of 1,250 heavy-duty and medium-duty buses.

In January, DOT announced it was starting two electric bus pilot programs.

This includes buying five electric buses and the corresponding charging infrastructure for the Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority in January for $6.9 million, using a mix of federal grants and state money. The two buses included in this phase of the project were expected to arrive this spring with the other three coming next year.

The state is also buying 12 electric buses and charging infrastructure for CTtransit’s New Haven and Stamford service areas for $15.1 million, using a mix of federal grants, state funds and the 2018 Volkswagen settlement money. The bid is expected to be awarded this winter with the buses being delivered next year.

DEEP also offers grants to help purchase electric buses.

Officials recognize fully transitioning the state’s public buses to electric will be gradual, based on funding and improvements to the electric vehicle technology.

This week’s memorandum is expected to encourage progress in both areas by creating an action plan and framework for all participating states. The entire Northeast, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii and Washington D.C. have signed on.

“By working together with 14 other states and Washington, D.C., we are sending a signal that will drive investment in cleaner, cheaper transportation solutions that will improve both our economy and our environment as we work together for clean air, clean energy and clean transportation,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a statement.