Augusta County Schools E-Van Pool Pilot

Faster, Cleaner Rides to School

In October 2024, Augusta County Public Schools began a pilot program to reduce the length of their longest rural school bus routes. Using two Ford E-Transit 10-passenger vans, which are small enough to be driven without a Commercial Drivers License and thus do not require a professional driver, the schools set up a van pool with teacher’s aides as drivers.

The drivers keep the vehicles at their homes, where charging stations have been installed. On school days, each driver picks up half a dozen students from the far end of a long bus route and takes them to the campus where the students go to class and the driver goes to work. During the day, the e-van is plugged into a vehicle charger on campus. At the end of the school day, the driver takes the same students back home and then drives herself home, where she plugs in the e-van to fully charge overnight.

Students, both those in the new vans and those remaining on the school bus, get 45 minutes cut off their trip to and from school each day. Drivers receive a free commute, a cash stipend, and reimbursement for electricity used at their homes to charge the vans. And the schools, which can charge their e-vans on campus with solar power, get clean vehicles powered by clean energy.

If you’d like to know more and see if your school might be a good candidate for our E-Van Pool Pilot Program, contact us today for a free consultation.