LAS VEGAS — Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) kicked off Monday with the release of a comprehensive report on medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles’ adoption of zero-emission and low-carbon technologies, signaling a lot of confusion amid $32 billion in financing opportunities.
For the school bus sector, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program accounts for $5 billion of those dollars through 2026. Grants, along with those at the state and local levels, have helped with a growing number of battery electric vehicle additions over the past. This year, the fifth annual State of Sustainable Fleets study conducted by ACT EXPO organizer TRC Companies, formerly known as Gladstein, Neandross and Associates, found.
The report confirms what many in the school bus industry already know: grants have accounted for nearly all electric school buses to date. For example, school bus manufacturer IC Bus says School transportation news In the upcoming June issue of the magazine, all 1,000 electric school buses purchased so far were the result of grant money.
The EPA’s Clean School Bus Program is nearing its halfway mark, highlighting a new type of electric range concern developing among school bus and truck operators, specifically how and whether increased range adoption of zero-electric vehicles can be sustained. emissions amid increasing battery and production costs. Electric school buses, specifically, cost two to three times as much as a new diesel school bus. At least in the near term, purchase prices that have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic do not appear to be falling.
The report also cites production pauses, lower expectations — at least by some OEMs — delays in the California Air Resources Board’s implementation of fleet procurement mandates, service model mismatches, and multi-year lead times for large electric capacity upgrades.
Confirming another fact known by electric school bus adopters, the study authors wrote that electrical infrastructure emerged as the most important factor in the speed of adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles. The report concludes that stakeholders recognize that the timelines and business models of fleets, charging vendors and electric utilities do not align well with rapid growth. To address these issues, the study recommends that early engagement and strong partnerships with utilities can help align expectations of both parties and share data and information important for planning.
For diesel, new vehicle purchase costs are expected to rise 12 percent due to CARB’s increasingly stringent emissions regulations and the EPA’s recently expired Phase 3 greenhouse gas rule. The report noted an overall 7 percent increase in “pre-purchase” of diesel trucks and buses before the 2024 model year, when EPA regulations begin to take effect.
Low carbon fuels are not without their own challenges. On the one hand, the report finds that renewable diesel, or RD, offers important solutions for fleets and allows the industry to cost-effectively transition to sustainable fleets, and may also fill near-term gaps in electric service for operators of battery electric vehicles by providing flexibility of power generation options. When availability is an issue. But only school bus operators in California, Oregon and Washington can use RD because their Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations offset the additional cost compared to regular diesel. New Mexico recently became the latest state to adopt LCFS. In all other states, cost has proven to be a barrier.
As a result, the report notes that the fuel is primarily used with forklifts, where vehicle fleets are not “currently a major market.” But she points out that a combination of renewable propane with regular propane could be the solution. For example, the Bonnie Eagle School District in Maine is the first district east of the Rocky Mountains to use 5 percent renewable energy with a 95 percent propane blend.
Overall, propane adoption declined in 2023 especially in the school bus sector, where electric school bus purchases account for more than 95 percent of Clean School Bus Program funds to date. School districts now only have one propane option to choose from — Blue Bird — until Cummins launches its own propane engine. Some school districts have turned to gasoline-powered school buses as an alternative until then.
The event runs from Tuesday to Thursday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
STN is the media sponsor of the ACT Expo, which returns to Anaheim, California, from April 28 to May 1, 2025.
Related: (STN Podcast E159) ACT Expo Recap: Diesel Longevity, New Electric School Buses + Alt. Transport conference
Related: Preparing the infrastructure for electric school buses
Related: EPA announces latest grant program prioritizing electric school buses
