Ballston Spa School District Planning to Buy First Electric Bus
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa School District may soon purchase its first electric school bus.
The district’s school board is set to vote on a proposition at their next meeting on April 2 that would allow the district to buy a zero-emission bus to the tune of $273,000.
The actual cost of the vehicle is $481,000, but grant money provided by New York State would pay for roughly half that amount. Despite the state-provided funds, the cost of the electric bus would still be about $100,000 more than a traditional bus, Clerk of the Board and Records Access Officer Brian Sirianni said during the board’s March 19 meeting.
Sirianni also said he would be “surprised” if the state has enough money to continue to pay for a portion of all the electric buses required to transition all fleets in the state to zero-emission by 2035.
The lone electric bus purchased by Ballston Spa would be used as a sort of pilot program to allow mechanics, drivers, and other staffers to become accustomed to EVs. Acquiring a bus would also allow the district to test out its range once fully charged.
“The bus companies will say, just like the car companies will say, ‘this has a range of 300 miles.’ But does it really? The answer is generally no it does not,” Sirianni said. “It’s significantly less than that, and it’s more significantly less than that when it’s cold.”
The district still hopes that the state government will delay the 2027 deadline, when all school districts are required to begin transitioning their fleets to electric vehicles.
“The longer it gets delayed, the better the buses will be,” Sirianni said. “And hopefully they won’t cost as much.”
Sirianni estimated that it could cost more than $2 million to acquire bus chargers. Overall, the district has around 80 buses that would need to be replaced by EVs.
According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), although electric buses cost more to purchase, they are cheaper to operate and maintain.
“The initial cost of an [electric school bus] may be offset by state and federal assistance, and by lower fueling costs and less maintenance requirements over the bus’s useful life,” NYSERDA says. “Annual maintenance and operations savings vary but can range from a few thousand dollars to more than $10,000 per bus, per year.”
According to New York State’s Electric School Bus Roadmap report, “the total cost of [zero-emission school bus] ownership is expected to reach parity by 2027 due to advances in battery technology, increased supply chain outputs, as well as lower fuel and maintenance expenses.”