With all twenty-five daily routes exclusively served by electric and propane buses, the Wilkes County School District (WCS) is the first in Georgia and one of the only school districts in the country to transition to a fully clean school bus fleet.
The announcement came Monday morning, but a formal celebration is scheduled for mid-December. The school system was one of fifteen school districts in Georgia to receive a portion of a $50 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2022. Wilkes County received $2.3 million.
The $50 million was expected to fund 149 buses across the school districts, bringing bus totals in around $335,570 each. Similar diesel fueled buses range in cost from $140,000 to $160,000. According to CAT, propane powered buses are similar in cost to diesel buses, but have lower lifetime costs for operations and fuel.
At the time of the grant awards, the Biden administration said the buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save schools money, and better protect children’s health. Officials also said the push would increase demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, increase domestic manufacturing, and spur good-paying jobs.
On Tuesday, December 17, local leaders will celebrate this milestone and debut new charging stations for the district’s fleet of electric school buses.Â
The Wilkes County School System partnered with Yancey Bros. Co., Blue Bird, and Highland Electric Fleets, a provider of school bus fleet electrification-as-a-service, to procure the clean buses and install five new Tellus charging stations to support the district’s five electric school buses. The charging stations can power electric school buses to run for 100-120 miles on a single charge.
According to manufacturers, the charge time is eight hours with a fast-charging time of three hours.
Scheduled event:
Tuesday, December 17, at 10AM, at the Wilkes County Depot
901 Ashley Dr., Washington, GA 30673
