The normal rumble and hiss of big yellow school buses has fallen silent in Glades County for a good and environmentally sound reason — a new fleet of zero-emission, electric vehicles has been pressed into service.
On Thursday the Glades County School District celebrated arrival of 13 new electric school buses, which replaced over half of the district's aging diesel fleet. The state-of-the-art buses offer students a cleaner, healthier transportation option and, for the first time, provide air-conditioned rides to the majority of district students.
"We celebrated the commissioning of an electric school bus fleet here with Glades County Public Schools, and ultimately, this is a big upgrade for the community," said Duncan McIntyre, CEO of Highland Electric Fleets, which electrification services and infrastructure support for the new Bluebird brand vehicles. "The fleet of buses prior was all diesel, many of them over 20 years old, and they lacked basics like air conditioning. It gets hot here in Central Florida, and ultimately, being able to upgrade this fleet and do it in a way that is affordable and reliable is huge. I think the students are going to be happier."
Additionally, McIntyre said that the district's bus drivers and mechanics are going to be happier and have better working conditions since the electric vehicles are cleaner and better than the old diesel versions.
"They offer ... a reliable fleet for the community that is within the budget," McIntyre said.
Highland was involved with a similar electric school bus program in The Dixie County School District in northern Florida.
No other local Southwest Florida school districts have yet converted to electric school buses.
About the purchase:
- The new buses can trans[port 77 students up to 120 miles per charge and feature air conditioning — a significant upgrade as only three buses previously offered this amenity.
- The district got almost $5 million via the U.S. EPA's Clean School Bus Rebate Program to buy the vehicles. The electric buses are expected to generate substantial savings, with reported energy costs of 19 cents per mile compared to 79 cents for diesel buses. The district partnered with Highland Electric Fleets for electrification services and infrastructure support.
- This initiative is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's $5 billion program for clean school transportation, which has awarded nearly $3 billion to date, enabling over 1,300 school districts to replace diesel buses with nearly 9,000 electric and ultra-low emission vehicles.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.