(The Center Square) – Zeeland Public Schools has logged more than 145,000 miles over four electric vehicle school buses since early 2021.
School bus maintenance reports for the past 18 months show vehicle costs comparing the electric buses to diesel-fueled buses, according to documents received through records requests.
Bus 14 – 27,129 milesBus 15 – 30,223 milesBus 16 – 35,201 milesBus 21 – 52,543 miles
A Environmental Protection Agency program replaced 17 old diesel buses with new all-electric buses at Ann Arbor Public Schools, Gaylord Community Schools, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Oxford Community Schools, Roseville Community Schools and Three Rivers Community Schools.
“Overall performance reported by our drivers is great,” answers compiled by Zeeland Public Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Jon Voss said. “Drivers enjoy driving these vehicles and do not report any major issues. They drive down the road nicely. Drivers do need training and subs need reminders on driving in winter (i.e. turning re-gen off), it’s important to provide that training to prevent accidents.”
The four EV buses cost $1.39 million. Grants funded $975,828 while ZPS paid $418,212.
The change aims to reduce carbon emissions, reduce reliability on fossil fuels and lower maintenance and trip costs.
Over six months, the cost per mile of Zeeland’s diesel school buses averaged 57 cents, compared to 21 cents per mile for their EV bus.
For example, Bus 16 cost $2,244 in charging costs over six months covering 10,686 miles. Fueling costs alone for a diesel bus covering that distance would have cost about $6,286. In other words, comparing fuel costs alone, the change saved $4,000.
Zeeland’s diesel school buses average about 6.2 miles per gallon.
“Air quality and noise are definitely benefits of driving these buses,” Zeeland district officials said. “Students and others are impressed when they ride one for the first time and often surprised at how quiet they are.”
Over six months, Zeeland bought 122 gallons of diesel to fuel auxiliary heaters because vehicle climate control can drain EV batteries, augmented by range loss between 25%-30% in extreme cold that could limit bus range to 87 miles.
Overall, most of the four EV buses appear to be reliable. Over a year of use, the buses were down for maintenance between one and three days because of bus or charger maintenance or a non-maintenance issue like a sick driver.
One bus was out for 78 days because of a crash and repair, the cost of which was covered by insurance and a warranty.
The 2022-23 school bus inspection report says there are 16,078 school buses statewide.
Britton Deerfield Schools in Lenawee County has finished installing EV chargers but hasn’t started using its three EV buses for daily routes, Superintendent Stacy Johnson told The Center Square in an email. The district obtained a $1.98 million grant from the EPA and Lion Electric for the vehicles.
“As we place these buses into operation, I am happy to answer any future questions you may have,” Johnson wrote.
Three Rivers Community Schools, about 27 miles south of Kalamazoo says it is “very happy” with the two EV school buses they’ve used since 2020.
