In the 2022-23 state budget, a mandate was enacted to require public school districts in New York to transition to buying only electric buses by 2027, and eliminate their gas buses by 2035. They can request a delay for the new purchase mandate until July 2029.
In a letter addressed to Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul, the group of Republican state senators said they are worried about the costs of an electric school bus. The U.S. Department of Energy reports the average new electric school bus costs about $400,000, compared to traditional gas-powered buses which cost around $130,000.
Led by state Sen. George M. Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, 15 state senators said the state needs to help local districts cover those costs, or put an end to the mandate before it starts costing districts a sizeable portion of their budgets.
"On behalf of these schools and the communities they serve, I am requesting that you include in your executive budget a provision to rescind the electric bus mandate or commit to fully funding the conversion," Borello wrote.
North country Sen. Mark C. Walczyk, R-Watertown, was one of the signatories on the letter. He said school officials in his 49th Senate District have expressed concerns that they are facing this massive, state-mandated cost on the horizon at the same time they are facing enrollment declines due to a shrinking population and continued educational gaps left from the months-long interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Nobody wants battery-buses," he said. "Nobody asked for battery-buses. Nobody thinks the governor's battery-bus plan is based in reality."
Borello said there are about 45,000 school buses in use across New York, and the cost of a full transition will be approximately $20 billion, not including costs to install electric charging stations, improvements to local electrical equipment and garage updates to maintain the vehicles.
To supplement local districts, the state approved $100 million in grants for bus purchases and infrastructure, with another $400 million allocated over the next few years, but Borello and the Republican senators said that just isn't enough money. The initial $100 million would cover about 250 buses, not even one bus per school district.
"Unless the state commits to fully funding the transition or taking the common-sense step of eliminating the mandate, the costs of this politically driven initiative will fall on already-overburdened local property taxpayers," the letter from Borello reads. "This is unacceptable, and I hope you agree."
Borello said there are many other issues to be addressed with this electric bus mandate — something that has been echoed by local transportation directors. He said the cold winter temperatures will reduce driving range and efficiency in the winter, and it will become impossible to use buses for athletic or field trips that require driving more than 100 miles, which is the average range of electric buses on the market today.
Darrin Jock, the Massena Central School District transportation director, told the Massena Board of Education in July that the electric bus transition was the "biggest hurdle" facing his department in the near future.
"The problem is that there's so many unanswered questions that haven't been tested," he said. "There's so many things going on."
He said he was concerned the district's bus routes would need to be reconfigured to be shorter.
"One of the big concerns is the mileage you're going to get and some of our bus runs are longer than the actual mileage you get on a charge from what I've been told. We take trips and go farther than we can be charged," Mr. Jock said.
Additionally, each bus manufacturer uses a different charging system, with different plugs. Mr. Jock said he is worried that as they develop, new generations of electric buses will become incompatible with older charging technology, necessitating regular investments for new infrastructure.
The Massena district, along with a handful of others across New York, is participating in a study funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to gather information on bus routes, usage, existing infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities and costs for the transition.
BY THE NUMBERS
$130,000 — Average cost of a traditional gas powered bus
$400,000 — Average cost of a new electric school bus
$20 billion — Cost to transition all 45,000 school buses in use across New York to electric
$100 million — Grant funding approved by state for bus purchases and infrastructure. That would cover about 250 buses, less than one bus per school district.
©2023 Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, N.Y.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
