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Jeremy Cluchey is director of public affairs for The Nature Conservancy in Maine.
The first driver of an electric school bus in Maine was initially leery about the idea. “I was always a skeptic of electric vehicles,” Andrew Keblinsky told NewsCenter Maine in 2022. But his experience driving the electric school bus for Mount Desert Island High School since 2021 has changed his perspective. “I like that it’s quiet and has zero diesel fumes, making it a better space for me and my students to breathe,” he told Generation 180 last year. “I love the electric bus. The students and parents lobbied hard for the bus and it’s a community win. … If someone put me back in a diesel bus, I would quit.”
Increasingly, school districts around Maine are considering applying for grants to purchase small numbers of electric school buses to add to their transportation fleets. As they do, the experiences of Keblinsky and others working with the state’s first electric school bus at Mount Desert Island High School can be instructive. That’s why The Nature Conservancy in Maine contracted with consulting firm VEIC to conduct a study of the bus’ performance. The results are telling.
A big question for electric vehicles in cold weather is range. For the MDI High School, electric school bus range and performance were found to be satisfactory for normal routes, as well as for longer-distance trips. Even during winter months when the temperature was at or below freezing, the average estimated available range of the electric school bus was around 120 miles — more than enough for its routes. Keblinsky reported that his route was the longest in the district. That along with a mid-day charge was no problem for the bus.
In terms of energy efficiency, the electric bus was found to be three times as efficient as comparable diesel buses. This reduced the school district’s operational energy expenses for the bus by 51 percent, including an estimated savings of 999 gallons of diesel fuel over the school year. In addition to the cost savings, the study estimated that the electric school bus reduced the school district’s fossil fuel emissions by 15.3 short tons — the equivalent to the carbon dioxide captured by 638 mature trees in one year.
The benefits of the electric school bus extended to drivers and passengers, too. One driver observed that “the noise and the exhaust fumes you get from a diesel … are nonexistent in an electric bus, which makes it luxurious for me as a driver.” Another said, “I welcomed [the electric bus]. Not because I’m a green person — I like it because it’s quiet and I don’t have to breathe diesel fumes.” Keblinsky appreciated that the bus is slightly wider, too: “It’s easier for me to walk up and down the aisle, and … students can’t put their feet across the aisle, which is a great change,” he told Generation 180.
Maintenance is part of any bus fleet, and several warranty replacements of body-related equipment were needed during the study period. Importantly, the issues encountered were not related to the electric technology, but to other more standard parts of the bus. Getting the parts took some time, but a local mechanic was identified who was able to complete the repairs. The electric drivetrain had no issues, and even with the needed repairs, the electric school bus maintained a significantly lower direct maintenance cost than the other diesel buses in the fleet to which it was compared.
Overall, the report concludes that “this ESB is a good fit for MDIHS’s needs and that ESBs will likely be a beneficial technology for other rural Maine schools.” The school district agrees. It has driven this bus over 41,000 miles to date and has said it is actively pursuing more electric school buses for its fleet, including one with a wheelchair lift.
Today, districts around the state are considering how to take advantage of grant programs and navigate the process of bringing electric school buses into their communities. Keblinsky has some wise words for them as they do: “I think everybody should keep an open mind. I think we need to find an alternative to fossil fuels because we’re paying the price, so people should support electric buses. Give it a try — see what you think!”
