Federal money to pay for 19 new electric school buses in Baton Rouge
Nineteen electric-powered school buses will be joining the fleet for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system thanks to $7.5 million in federal money recently awarded to the school district.
Standing outside on a chilly Wednesday morning, Supt. Sito Narcisse said the new buses will not only mean better air quality but should improve the efficiency of school transportation operations.
“These 19 school buses will ensure greater sustainability of our fleet and the safety of our children," Narcisse said.
Narcisse gave his remarks while standing in front of one of the electric buses to be provided by The Lion Electric Co. This Canadian-based electric school bus manufacturer has been producing school buses since 2016, with about 800 on the road in at least 13 U.S. states.
“This is not a prototype. This isn’t the future. This is very much the present,” Malinda Sandhu, director of business development for Lion Electric, said Wednesday.
Winning the federal award is not the end of the matter. Narcisse plans to ask the School Board in February to formally accept the award, which it is expected to do. Then the school district plans to place an order for the new buses, which will take Lion Electric an estimated eight to 10 months to fulfill. That means the electric buses won’t be on the road until late this year at earliest and well into the 2023-24 school year.
And once on the road, they won’t be able to run every route. Each bus can run a maximum of 125 miles on average, holding up to 71 passengers each.
Monique Scott-Spaulding, chief operations officer for the school system, said the district's Transportation Department is looking to place the new electric buses on shorter, direct routes.
The federal money also will pay for new charging stations as well as training for school employees.
East Baton Rouge is one of six Louisiana school districts, along with one charter school, that qualified for new electric school buses. Rapides Parish is the biggest recipient, with a $9.9 million grant that will provide 25 buses, followed by $9.5 million to Pointe Coupee Parish, paying for 24 buses.
The money is from the $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, which is being administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Congress authorized the funding as part of the infrastructure law it approved in fall 2021. The grant pays to replace existing school buses with zero-emission or low-emission models. EPA has awarded nearly $1 billion so far nationwide.
While these would be the first electric buses used by the East Baton Rouge school system, the district has previously purchased new buses that use diesel and propane that were funded by federal programs aimed at lowering emissions.
Tairone Joseph, a 15-year veteran school bus driver, was tasked Wednesday with showing off what the Lion Electric bus, known as the LionC, could do.
“It drives a little different. It’s lighter, but it’s got a lot of the bells and whistles,” Joseph said.
Joseph took a small group Wednesday for a quick spin on the road.
The bus made very little noise. One passenger hesitated before boarding, waiting for the bus to start.
“It’s already started,” Joseph informed her. “That’s how quiet this is.”
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https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/feds-pay-for-19-new-electric-school-buses-in-baton-rouge/article_783aa23e-9c54-11ed-9574-8bb55460cc8e.html
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https://www.wbrz.com/news/ebr-schools-planning-to-purchase-fleet-of-electric-buses-with-7-5-million-grant/
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https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/awarded-clean-school-bus-program-rebates
Nineteen electric-powered school buses will be joining the fleet for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system thanks to $7.5 million in federal money recently awarded to the school district.
Standing outside on a chilly Wednesday morning, Supt. Sito Narcisse said the new buses will not only mean better air quality but should improve the efficiency of school transportation operations.
“These 19 school buses will ensure greater sustainability of our fleet and the safety of our children," Narcisse said.
Narcisse gave his remarks while standing in front of one of the electric buses to be provided by The Lion Electric Co. This Canadian-based electric school bus manufacturer has been producing school buses since 2016, with about 800 on the road in at least 13 U.S. states.
“This is not a prototype. This isn’t the future. This is very much the present,” Malinda Sandhu, director of business development for Lion Electric, said Wednesday.
Winning the federal award is not the end of the matter. Narcisse plans to ask the School Board in February to formally accept the award, which it is expected to do. Then the school district plans to place an order for the new buses, which will take Lion Electric an estimated eight to 10 months to fulfill. That means the electric buses won’t be on the road until late this year at earliest and well into the 2023-24 school year.
And once on the road, they won’t be able to run every route. Each bus can run a maximum of 125 miles on average, holding up to 71 passengers each.
Monique Scott-Spaulding, chief operations officer for the school system, said the district's Transportation Department is looking to place the new electric buses on shorter, direct routes.
The federal money also will pay for new charging stations as well as training for school employees.
East Baton Rouge is one of six Louisiana school districts, along with one charter school, that qualified for new electric school buses. Rapides Parish is the biggest recipient, with a $9.9 million grant that will provide 25 buses, followed by $9.5 million to Pointe Coupee Parish, paying for 24 buses.
The money is from the $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, which is being administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Congress authorized the funding as part of the infrastructure law it approved in fall 2021. The grant pays to replace existing school buses with zero-emission or low-emission models. EPA has awarded nearly $1 billion so far nationwide.
While these would be the first electric buses used by the East Baton Rouge school system, the district has previously purchased new buses that use diesel and propane that were funded by federal programs aimed at lowering emissions.
Tairone Joseph, a 15-year veteran school bus driver, was tasked Wednesday with showing off what the Lion Electric bus, known as the LionC, could do.
“It drives a little different. It’s lighter, but it’s got a lot of the bells and whistles,” Joseph said.
Joseph took a small group Wednesday for a quick spin on the road.
The bus made very little noise. One passenger hesitated before boarding, waiting for the bus to start.
“It’s already started,” Joseph informed her. “That’s how quiet this is.”