Highland Electric Transportation, a provider of turnkey electric bus solutions for school districts and fleet managers, has raised $253 million of corporate equity to accelerate its growth. The financing was led by Vision Ridge Partners, with participation by Fontinalis Partners and existing investors.
Highland says it reduces the complexity of going electric by providing customers a full-service solution of electric vehicles (EVs) that are owned, powered and maintained by the company. This all-inclusive transportation-as-a-service model is the simple and cost-effective way for districts to transition their fleets.
“We want everyone to enjoy the benefits of going electric – providing a cleaner ride to students and delivering cost savings to school districts,” says Reuben Munger, founder and managing partner of Vision Ridge Partners. “Highland is making that possible through a cost-effective solution and we are excited to invest in the company to accelerate its mission.”
School districts and other governmental organizations are embracing EVs because they are cheaper and cleaner. In addition to school buses, Highland plans to expand its service to help electrify entire government fleets. Currently, the company is working on projects to electrify thousands of medium-duty vehicles in government fleets.
The company benefits from government initiatives that accelerate fleet electrification. These include President Biden’s executive order to electrify 645,000 Federal government vehicles as well as the Build Back Better policy to provide incentives to electrify all 500,000 municipally-operated school buses in the U.S.
State governments are supporting the switch to EVs too. Maryland offers grants for zero-emission school buses. Additionally, last year’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 2222 created the nationwide ability to connect vehicle batteries to the electricity grid. Today, Highland is selling battery services into ISO-NE and will soon provide similar services to the PJM Energy Market.
