Secure Futures Publishes Free Guide to Help K-12 Schools Get Electric School Buses

The air inside a diesel school bus can be up to 12 times more polluted than the air outside according to a 2011 research study. Breathing diesel pollution can contribute to asthma, cancer and neurological conditions that impair students’ ability to pay attention in class, leading to lower scores on standardized tests.

Protecting the health of students and bus drivers is the main reason that schools are increasingly interested in replacing traditional diesel school buses with clean electric school buses that operate with no harmful emissions. Schools also want to go green and contribute to America’s fight against climate change by getting off fossil fuels. And if schools want to prepare their students for 21st-century clean energy jobs, it helps to have tangible examples of clean technology like electric school buses right on campus.

But cost remains the biggest barrier for schools to get cleans buses since an ESB can cost three times more to purchase than a diesel bus. Transportation managers and drivers also wonder if electric buses are practical.

“Our customers who have installed solar power on campus are now interested in moving away from dirty diesel school buses to clean electric ones,” said Ryan McAllister, CEO of Secure Futures. “But school leaders have questions about cost, range, maintenance and more. To answer those questions, we put together a guide that we hope will help all schools navigate the exciting but sometimes confusing world of clean buses.”

Entitled The Electric School Bus Revolution: Start Going EV Now, Find Funding and Avoid Pitfalls, the 19-page, fully illustrated informational guide was developed using research from sources of accurate and up-to-date information including bus manufacturers, federal government agencies and non-profit groups advocating a transition to electric school buses.

The guide covers everything that people who run and care about schools need to understand the case for electric school buses, whether ESBs are practical for their school, and how to overcome barriers like the high cost of electric vs. traditional diesel buses. Topics include:

• The rapid spread of electric vehicles including cars along with transit and school buses
• The dangers of diesel school buses for kids’ health
• Are ESBs practical? Do they have enough range for your school’s bus routes?
• Alternatives to ESBs like propane and CNG buses
• Grant funding and new types of financing such as service agreements to acquire ESBs with zero upfront cost
• How parents, students and community members can help their schools get ESBs sooner rather than later
• Making your buses truly clean by powering them with solar energy

Along the way, The Electric School Bus Revolution will introduce readers to schools that have already made big progress towards a 100% clean bus fleet and bus drivers who have tested whether ESBs really do the job or not.

We developed the guide with three main audiences in mind: transportation managers and school administrators, school board members and parents.

The guide is available for free download at https://securesolarfutures.com/get-free-ev-school-bus-guide/.