The electric school bus costs four times more than a diesel bus and loses one-third of its range on cold days. Naturally, school districts across Michigan have said, “Sign me up!”
Why would they do this? Why pursue an early-stage technology with known problems and rely on it to transport children?
Because, thanks to federal grants, the price is right. What appears to be free money will entice school districts to make choices they should not.
This year Michigan will dole out $125 million for poor schools in rural and urban areas to buy the electric school buses they could not otherwise afford.
Between the bus and chargers, the start-up fees to get one electric school bus on the road can run about $400,000. Few public schools have that kind of money lying around for school buses. Not without large-scale grants.
Michigan got the money from the Environmental Protection Agency’s $5 billion Clean School Bus Program. President Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure law contains $30 billion to boost demand for the electric vehicle. This includes funds for electric school and municipal buses, as well as grants for states to build a nationwide network of chargers.
The EPA attributes magical qualities to the electric school bus. It claims the buses lower childhood asthma rates and boost learning, as students miss fewer sick days. School districts have heard that sales pitch for years but still balked at the price tag.
Now with all the federal money floating around, they don’t have to. Michigan schools will learn the moral of this story the hard way: There are no free electric school buses. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Electric school buses cannot stand on their own in the marketplace. Are they ready to transport your child?
