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Dozens of electric buses fully operational for Boston schools, officials say

BOSTON — Officials announced on Monday the first fleet of 20 Blue Bird electric, low-emission, school buses are fully operational; ready to serve the students of Boston.

The buses can carry a maximum of 71 students for up to 120 miles on a single charge, according to Blue Bird Corporation. A singular vehicle takes four hours to charge from 0% to 100% based on Boston Public School’s Level III ICE 30 kW fast chargers installed at their Readville bus depot.

“Blue Bird is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of zero-emission school buses in North America,” said Britton Smith, Senior Vice President of Electrification and Chief Strategy Officer for Blue Bird Corporation.

The pilot program was spearheaded by Mayor Michelle Wu, and is touted as the largest electric school bus deployment in the Northeast.

“Clean, reliable buses that get our students to school reliably, while also cutting down on pollutants in the air and reducing carbon emissions is an important step that we must take for the well-being of Boston’s young people and their future,” said Boston Public School’s Superintendent Mary Skipper. “We are thrilled by this historic partnership. This pilot program is an important step in our work towards a fully electric fleet by 2030, as part of the Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools.”

The current plan is to replace the entire BPS bus fleet by 2030. According to officials, nearly a third of the district’s current fleet of 750 buses is diesel-powered.

“We are excited to add 20 electric vehicles to Boston Public Schools’ bus fleet and to further help the school district to put student and community health first,” said Smith.

The company says customers using their electric fleets can expect significant savings on fuel costs, with some spending an average 14 cents per mile on energy costs for electric buses compared to 49 cents per mile for diesel buses.

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