<body><div>In scope of the $5 billion federal grant program to electrify the nation’s school buses, Compton Unified School District was able to secure the first batch of 50 electric buses as part of the total 72 e-buses fleet. Like every School district receiving e-buses funded by this grant, Compton Unified is now facing several challenges typical to the electric-car industry.The initial cost for the 50 electric buses is approximately $ 25 million. This is well over 200 brand new high tech diesel school buses.<h2>Challenge 1:</h2>School officials have been working since spring 2024 with the local utility, Southern California Edison, to finish installing charging stations. A typical charging station is designed to charge one bus at a time. The district hopes to get the first 25 buses in use EARLY NEXT YEAR. We doubt that this will be the case, and the completion of the charging stations may well be in 2026. The district and SCE are scrambling to figure out where to install charging stations. <ul><li>Level 2 Chargers (slower, typically used for overnight charging):</li><li>Cost: Around $2,000 to $10,000 per unit, not including installation.</li><li>Installation: Installation costs can range from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on electrical infrastructure and site preparation needs.</li></ul><ul><li>DC Fast Chargers (faster charging, often used for quicker turnaround):</li></ul><ul><li>Cost: Around $20,000 to $50,000 per unit.</li><li>Installation: Installation can range from $30,000 to $80,000 or more, depending on power supply upgrades, trenching, and other factors.</li></ul><h2>Challenge 2:</h2>Fleet managers should be concerned whether electric buses have the range to take sports teams out of town. Modern electric school buses have a range of 100 to 155 miles on a full charge. Hot temperatures reduce battery efficiency and range.Charging time is approximately 2 to 4 hours for a full charge, for faster charging needs, such as between routes or when buses need to be back in service more quickly.<h2>Challenge 3:</h2>The lifespan of a battery in an electric school bus typically ranges from 8 to 12 years, depending on proper care. Frequent full discharges and high-power demands shortens the battery's lifespan. After the battery's primary lifespan is over, it may still retain around 70-80% of its original capacity, making it useful for "secondary applications" like energy storage, though it may no longer be ideal for use in the bus itself. What a shocker!!!On average, electric bus batteries cost about $100,000-150,000. This price range reflects the high-capacity batteries required for the long distances and heavy loads that school buses typically handle.<h2>Challenge 4:</h2>Initial cost of the electric bus is whopping $375,000 apiece. That is tripled that of a traditional diesel bus. It will presumably bring cleaner air, reduce diesel burning emissions (of course we don't care at this point how much the emissions from "production" of electricity are reduced), reduce long-term global-warming (obviously not measurable), cut long-term fuel costs for school district (this is quite doubtful) -- provided that the battery is well maintained and lasts long enough (8 to 12 years).Critics call it a waste of money, pointing to the high price tag and difficulties getting the vehicles into service. So far nearly $3 billion in grants and rebates have been awarded to school districts by the Environmental Protection Agency, enough to buy only 8,000 electric buses.Less than a third of that number have made it onto the road, with electric buses making up around 1% of the country’s fleet of 480,000 school buses, according to the nonprofit World Resources Institute, which tracks the slow rollout of these new electric buses.The Clean School Bus Program, part of the $1 trillion infrastructure package President Biden signed into law in November 2021.In conclusion, one must wonder whether it makes any sense to put this rush-to-green agenda ahead of what is practical and affordable. At least our school kids will be riding a half a million USD electric bus to and from school. It would be a great ride only if the potholes were fixed. YAY!</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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OPINION: Compton Unified School District Secured 50 Electric School Buses

In scope of the $5 billion federal grant program to electrify the nation’s school buses, Compton Unified School District was able to secure the first batch of 50 electric buses as part of the total 72 e-buses fleet. Like every School district receiving e-buses funded by this grant, Compton Unified is now facing several challenges typical to the electric-car industry.