SOUTH DAYTON — Electric buses have begun making their way into the local area, as Pine Valley Central School has officially purchased the district’s first.

The district purchased the electric bus on Oct 29 and it is set to be put into service on Nov 14 after the final installation of the radio system. Since purchasing the bus, the district also held a training on it for local first responders on Nov 6.

Transportation Director Kristen Sercu said that the training involved 50 local first responders from Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties who came to meet with the bus vendor to learn more about it.

“We invited county services from Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties to meet with our vendor to educate them on how to react or behave on the scene of an incident that involves an electric bus,” Sercu said. “It was split into two parts, with one hour focused on a powerpoint and the other hour spent underneath the vehicle with it up on a lift.”

Sercu said there are multiple ways that the bus is labeled as electric, and those will be the first thing first responders will look for when called on for incidents. For the district, she said there are no more concerns regarding electric buses than normal. We don’t have any more concerns about transitioning this bus into our fleet than we would with a normal diesel bus,” Sercu said. “Overall, I think it will be a very smooth transition.”

Once the electric bus is in service it will be used on a route for one of the out-of-district programs, traveling 80 miles a day transporting students. Sercu said it will become an official part of the fleet and that they will move forward with more transitioning after that.

The electric bus was fully funded through a truck voucher incentive program from the state and the second electric bus that the district has incoming has been funded by NYSBIP and other state programs. The district has plans for eight more electric buses following that, with the plan to have 10 in all by 2026. All will be fully funded and balance out the costs of purchasing diesel buses, and the district’s current capital project is working on installing the needed infrastructure.

“The district is very mindful about the transition to electric buses,” Sercu said. “We will continue to learn and optimize what funding is available in the best way that we can.”