Submitted Photo Lake Shore Transportation Supervisor Perry Oddi is pictured with the district’s newest zero-emissions bus.

ANGOLA — The Lake Shore Central School District was the first district in the region to add an electric school bus to its fleet. Now before most districts have added their first, Lake Shore has added a second.

The district recently received its second zero-emission electric school bus. It will be put into service next week, with morning and afternoon Middle School and High School runs, along with a run to J.T. Waugh Elementary School. The bus seats 71 passengers.

“Because this bus has zero emissions, we intentionally are using it in the densely populated village area,” said Lake Shore Transportation Supervisor Perry Oddi. “That means there will be less diesel particulate matter experienced by our children and the village population. We felt that was important, especially because of the elevated asthma rate in our region.”

J.T. Waugh Principal Andrea Cwynar emphasized the benefit to a zero-emissions vehicle. “Unlike diesel buses, electric school buses produce no toxic exhaust, so they’re much better for children’s health. They can also lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce school operating expenses, create green manufacturing jobs, and support a more resilient grid powered by greater amounts of renewable energy,” Cwynar said.

Oddi noted that the new bus is a Generation II 2023 Bluebird Vision battery electric school bus. “Battery technology and thermal controls continue to advance, as well as increased range,” Oddi said.

Cwynar discussed the excitement the district feels about its new vehicle.

“To many adults, electric vehicles seemed like a futuristic fantasy while we were growing up, but here we are, in the future with electric vehicles,” Cwynar said. “We are excited to bring this technology to our District and the Evans community and we want to celebrate.”

The district is leaning in on the theme of futuristic vehicles, encouraging families to submit futuristic school bus designs to be displayed at the school’s Transportation Celebration.

The district is also inviting families and community members to an event, as part of the school’s Red Ribbon Week observance, featuring a tour of the electric bus on Oct. 24.

“We will have the Evans Police Department playing basketball against Lake Shore staff and several emergency vehicles will be present,” Cwynar said.

New York State’s current legislation requires all new school buses purchases in the state to be zero-emission by 2027, with all school buses on the road to be zero-emission by 2035.

Electric buses cost approximately $200,000 more than a conventional diesel school bus, which typically costs around $125,000, the Lake Shore Central School District told The OBSERVER at the time of the first electric vehicle’s purchase last year.

Last year, the district purchased its first electric bus through a New York State Energy & Research Development grant. As part of the Beneficiary Mitigation Plan prepared by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, actions were taken to offset the excess emissions from Volkswagen vehicles in violation of emission standards. Settlement funds contributed to the purchase of the bus for $340,000.

Lake Shore anticipates a decision regarding more grant funding between Nov. 1 through the end of 2023, as the district continues to transition to an all-electric fleet.

Other districts in the area have also taking notice of Lake Shore’s purchases. The Pine Valley Central School District purchased its first electric bus last school year. Pine Valley Transportation Director Kristin Sercu consulted with Oddi as the district was considering an electric bus purchase.

“I think that the market is going to shift really quickly, and we wanted to get ahead of the game to see how it was usable here in our district at Pine Valley,” Sercu said.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) offers multiple programs to assist districts in the transition to zero-emissions vehicles, including the Clean School Bus Program Grant, the Medium- and Heavy-Duty EV Make Ready pilot program, the FlexTech Program, the P-12 Clean Green Schools Initiative, and the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program. More information on these programs is available online at nyserda.ny.gov.