The Rise Of The Electric School Bus

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The US has 12,000 electric school buses, but not really. According to Axios, less than half are in use. The electric school bus business has a long way to go. The same analysis shows that electric school buses are about 2.5% of all school buses on the road.

The other drawback, according to the Axios analysis, is that an electric school bus costs about $370,000, while a diesel-powered one costs closer to $130,000.

Too Expensive

This data shows that the future of the electric school bus is grim. Most school systems need more money. The difference could be well into the millions of dollars for a medium-sized school district. Even when the price of electricity is compared to diesel fuel, it would take years to make up for the difference.

The electric school bus business is like the EV business because of price different. Except, in the EV business, the prices are coming down, and will probably be the same as gas powered cars within the next two or three years, based on a median prices basis. It is hard to imagine that school buses could make the same level of progress without a massive change in technology

Alternative Energy

Finally, the electric school bus business is like many other alterative energy projects, even wind and solar. Initial cost are high, financing may be hard to find, and mass production processes are a long way off.