Hochul Mandate: Saratoga Schools Braces for Electric School Buses

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Springs City School District’s Transportation Department has until 2035 to convert its entire fleet to zero-emission vehicles. This electric bus requirement established by Gov. Kathy Hochul will require significant funds and may involve some logistical hurdles.

“It’s not just buying an electric vehicle, as you know, it’s the infrastructure and everything else that goes with it,” said Jerry Keenan, the district’s director of transportation, at a Board of Education meeting last month. “We have a lot of work to do in a very short period of time.”

According to an annual report delivered by Keenan, Saratoga’s 116-vehicle fleet includes 88 large buses, 21 small buses, 5 Chevrolet Suburbans, and 2 attendance officer vehicles. 

Electric buses can cost as much as $400,000, nearly three-times the cost of a diesel or gasoline bus. But according to New York State’s Electric School Bus Roadmap report, “the total cost of 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.”

“Providing the tools for school districts to swap out diesel and gas school buses with zero-emission bus fleets will help students and their communities across the state breathe cleaner air and enjoy a healthier way of life,” Governor Kathy Hochul said when the Roadmap report was released in September.

Some state lawmakers have pushed back against the governor’s requirements. State Senator James Tedisco, who represents Saratoga County, co-signed a letter to Hochul written by State Senator Dan Stec, who represents part of the Capital District. In the letter published last month, Stec wrote that the “governor should either lift this mandate or allocate enough funding in next year’s budget to cover the $20 billion it’s expected to cost to convert the 45,000 school buses in operation statewide.”