ACT Bus Program seeks to help electrify school bus fleets

A program offered through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is accepting applications from public school districts interested in receiving free fleet electrification advisory and planning services.

The Accelerating Clean Transportation School Bus Advisory Services Program is accepting applications on a rolling basis, and will select up to 25 public school districts around the state to receive the services.

The program seeks to help school districts overcome the barriers to electrifying their school bus fleets, challenges that include the upfront costs of buying vehicles and charging infrastructure, coordination with third-party providers for districts that seek to lease buses, gaps in technical knowledge for making the transition from diesel to electric buses, and resource and budget constraints.

While it seeks to give school districts a clear path to school bus electrification, the program doesn’t provide funding to buy electric school buses. Led by the MassCEC’s consultant VEIC, a sustainable energy nonprofit, the program provides public school districts and third-party school bus fleet operators with technical services including:
• Vehicle and charging infrastructure analysis
• Feasibility designs
• Financial models
• Preparing for and applying for future funding opportunities
• Vehicle and charging station procurement plans
• Educational materials

For more information about the program and the application process, visit the ACT School Bus Advisory Services Program website. School district officials can also email Sam Riccio at SRiccio@veic.org to express interest in the program.