Colonial School District is using more than $800,000 in federal grant money to buy four environmentally friendly school buses.
The grant is part of the $5 billion federal Clean School Bus Rebate Program that was folded into last year's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Colonial’s Supervisor of Transportation Andrew Moffett said the district plans to buy three electric buses and one propane-powered bus.
“We don’t know if it’s something we’ll go full-fledged and move forward on in future years. We’re interested just to see (if) the value is worth it,” he said.
The district will track the cost of running the new buses closely.
“What is the offset of the cost? How much are we spending for the additional electricity to keep these buses powered each and every single day in comparison to what we would have paid for diesel and/or paid for propane?” Moffett said.
The district already has three propane buses in its fleet.
Moffett even though they aren’t as fuel efficient as the diesel buses, they are cheaper to run and maintain.
The district expects to purchase the new buses as soon as the summer of 2023.
