Up until a week ago, Dixie County Public Schools (DCPS) buses did not have air conditioning.
Now students and bus drivers are rejoicing over a brand-new fleet of 23 electric school buses that run near-silently, with the option of air conditioning.
In 2022, the school district applied for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Program rebate. Unlike several other rural Florida counties that applied to replace a few of their buses, Dixie County applied to replace its entire 23-bus fleet.
“For some reason, Dixie County was awarded the whole grant,” Paul Bennett, DCPS’s director of safety, facilities and special projects, said in a speech. “All 23 buses. When that happened, we kind of got excited about it.”
The buses are Thomas Built, through Matthews Buses, which Bennett said DCPS settled on after doing some research and test-driving different options. They are powered by Highland Electric Fleets infrastructure.
Every driver got a brand-new bus, according to Bennett. The buses themselves cost about $8.6 million, and the infrastructure was another $500,000-$600,000, all covered by the EPA.
Darnell Gainey said she has been driving buses for DCPS for 33 years and has never had an air-conditioned bus. She said her student riders were so excited to try the new feature that she promised them if the temperature rose to 40 degrees, she would turn the air conditioning on.
On Tuesday morning, Gainey wore a cardigan and braced herself through the cold of the air conditioning so that her students could revel in the indoor breeze.
She said when she started the bus without a sound, and even as it made the noise she calls “Machine Gun Nelly” revving onto the road, students asked her if she was sure the bus was on.
“You better be able to look and see these buses, because you’re not going to hear them,” DCPS superintendent Mike Thomas said in a speech.
Transportation director P.J. Hope said the quieter, cooler buses have already helped lift the moods of drivers and riders alike, reducing behavior issues.
“It’s something new, as if it was a Christmas gift,” Hope said in a speech.
Evelyn Krasnow, Highland Electric Fleets vice president of marketing, said school districts that use electric buses see an 8% decrease in student absenteeism, linked to a corresponding drop in pediatric asthma when students are taken off diesel buses.
Bus drivers also said the new buses’ air conditioning means they can leave the windows up, dodging the dust that has flooded through open windows for years, giving riders and drivers headaches.
The new electric buses are projected to avoid 228 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and over 44,000 gallons of diesel, each year.
In return, the EPA requires that DCPS destroy the 23 diesel buses now that they have been replaced. Fourteen of the school district’s best diesel buses are still operational, on stand-by, according to Bennett.
Though the new buses were not expected to have enough battery life to reach students for pick-ups in Suwannee and Steinhatchee, Bennett said the district has been pleasantly surprised to find those communities within reach of the bus’s 138-mile range.
I’m happy for them but this will bite them in the butt in the long run. Once the new federal administration come into office, the EPA will kill this project.
Replacement batteries cost around $30K each.
most electric buses operate on routes that do not exceed 40 or 45 miles per hour.
Depending on the battery chargers, let hope they only need once a day charge.
I’m also wondering why no other county got these buses? Something seem wrong here.
Replacement batteries are indeed quite expensive. However, modern electric vehicle batteries will last anywhere from 300,000 to 1,000,000 miles, and generally outlast the vehicle in which they were installed. The county will be able to charge the vehicles overnight at the industrial rate for electricity — much lower than the residential rate and far, far cheaper than diesel. And routine maintenance will be much cheaper — no oil changes, etc. It will be interesting to see how much Dixie county saves in operational cost over their old diesel fleet during the next several years.
Obviously you didn’t read the article and it seems you’re coming up with non-existence facts.
(A typical car battery will last for around 50,000 to 60,000 miles, which is considered the average distance a car battery can go before needing replacement, as most batteries have a lifespan of four to five years.) (Semi-truck batteries typically last between three to five years. If the battery is reaching the end of its lifespan and you notice signs that it’s failing, it may be time for a replacement.)
The article also said: the district has been pleasantly surprised to find those communities within reach of the bus’s 138-mile range. I asked the recharging question because I wonder if the buses can complete a 2 trip day without recharging? Reading that a semi can only go (average) 230 miles on a single charge.
gee, i wonder who Dixie County voters voted for . . . . ya think somebody who has committed to killing the EPA who this grant was run through?
Great article, I was at the ribbon cutting and officials said they had to overcome a lot of misinformation in the community. They were courageous to make this about student health, not politics. So happy for these kids.