Highland Electric Fleets, a provider of school bus fleet electrification-as-a-service, says it is partnering with Baltimore City Public Schools to install 25 chargers and deploy 20 Type C electric school buses from IC Bus and five Type A buses from Collins Bus during the 2023-2024 school year.
As an EPA Clean School Bus Program priority district, Baltimore worked with Highland to apply for round one of the program and received $9,425,000 to bring cleaner, more equitable transportation to historically marginalized Baltimore communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change.
“We are excited that by electrifying our school bus fleet, we will contribute to cleaner air for students and staff, and for our entire community,” says Lynette Washington, COO at Baltimore City Public Schools. “We were able to embrace this innovation in student transportation as a result of partnerships like the one we have with Highland.”
The 25 electric school buses, delivered through K. Neal Truck and Bus Center, will serve about 350 students daily.
By combining private capital with public funding available through programs such as the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, Highland removes the upfront cost of upgrading to electric school bus fleets.
Highland will procure the buses and charging equipment, electrify the bus depot, cover electricity, maintenance and labor costs, train bus drivers and mechanics, manage charging, and offer a charge-readiness guarantee for the duration of the 12-year contract – all for less than the district spends to own, operate and maintain diesel buses.
