Pre-K students climb on board one of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12’s zero-emissions, all-electric Jouley buses from Thomas Built Buses on Jan. 21 at Somerville Elementary School in Somerville. Chelsea-area RSU 12 has two electric Thomas buses, which have not had the same mechanical and maintenance problems as the Lion Electric Co. buses that were sold to several other Maine school districts, including Winthrop and Yarmouth. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Maine school districts, including Winthrop Public Schools and the Yarmouth School Department, continue to have problems with electric school buses supplied through the Clean School Bus Program from Quebec-based Lion Electric Co.

The Lion Electric buses now in Maine have experienced issues from power-steering failures to malfunctions with the heating system, keeping them off the road in most cases. The company’s financial problems also raise questions about the ability of Lion Electric to follow through on its obligations to schools.

However, experts say the problems with Lion Electric buses are not representative of electric buses as a whole, which can be beneficial for schools, as the buses are cheaper to maintain and better for the health of students and bus drivers, as well as the environment as a whole.

WHAT IS THE CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM? 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started the federal Clean School Bus Program in 2022 to provide $5 billion worth of electric buses to schools across the county. The same year, the Maine Legislature passed a law mandating that 75% of new school buses bought or leased by 2035 be zero-emission vehicles.

The legislation established the Maine Clean School Bus Program, a joint project of the Maine Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. School districts can apply for a grant and are selected based on need, determined by poverty levels, with rural and tribal school districts a priority, according to the EPA.

The Maine Clean School Bus Program runs through 2026 and has several more rounds during which school districts will be awarded buses.

Nationwide, the Clean School Bus Program has awarded $3 billion in funding, sending 9,000 electric buses to 1,300 school districts in nearly all 50 states, said Remmington Belford, EPA press secretary.

WHAT ARE ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES? 

Electric school buses run on an electric power system rather than diesel fuel, cutting down on carbon emissions. A typical bus runs around 150 miles on a full charge, but less in the winter when power is needed to heat the bus. 

Brian Cressey is president of W.C. Cressey & Son, a school bus dealership in Kennebunk that sells Thomas Built school buses, both diesel and electric. He said electric school buses are a fairly new concept that experts are still trying to figure out, but the industry has moved fast in the past five years in adapting to the new technology.

“The electrification of vehicles is the biggest thing to happen in my career,” Cressey said. “That’s not going to be without hiccups and we have to support the people doing it. We are all learning at the same time.” 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? 

Through the Clean School Bus Program, it’s hoped the electric school buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce cleaner air on buses, said Belford.

Because the buses do not run on diesel, they have zero tailpipe pollution, meaning students and bus drivers will not be exposed to harmful emissions.

The buses also have reduced maintenance costs, with less wear on brakes due to regenerative braking and no engine or exhaust system maintenance. There is potential for lower fuel costs because the buses rely on charging technology.

The switch to electric school buses has allowed Sipayik Elementary School, a Maine Indian Education school with three Lion Electric Co. buses, to align with the school’s traditional Wabanaki values.

The dashboard on one of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12’s all-electric Jouley bus from Thomas Built Buses shows the battery level instead of a fuel gauge. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Superintendent Reza Namin said the district has had challenges with the buses, including having to get used to charging a vehicle, adapting school maintenance policies to electric vehicles, and optimizing the charge time to align with bus routes.

But, Namin said, he is taking it as a learning opportunity, like any new piece of technology.

“What has made our experience particularly meaningful is how we’ve aligned this transition with our traditional Wabanaki values of environmental stewardship and respect for Mother Earth,” he said. “For generations, Wabanaki traditions have emphasized the importance of living in harmony with the environment and making decisions that benefit the next seven generations. The shift to electric buses represents a modern expression of these ancestral values.”

And while it can be difficult to convince bus drivers to adapt to a new vehicle, once they do, they often prefer electric.

At Winthrop Public Schools, former Superintendent Jim Hodgkin said last year that even in light of the problems with the buses, the bus drivers in the district enjoy driving a quieter, cleaner bus after an initial learning curve.

ARE ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES SAFE?

Yes. Though the buses are a fairly new concept, they are safe, and the industry has done a “wonderful” job at the safety aspect, Cressey said, adding that there are numerous levels of training for drivers and technicians.

And, like any vehicle, there are problems, but he said he would trust driving and using an electric bus for his own company.

“The question always comes up: What if there is an accident? What if the vehicle submerges? But education is the solution to almost every question they have,” he said. “It’s the first time we have done all of this and at first, our guys in the shop were pretty nervous about working on them and had mixed feelings with the high-voltage training, but once the team followed and learned all the safety commissions, they are easier to work on than a regular vehicle.”

Josh Wheeler, transportation director for Winthrop Public Schools, closes the hood on one of the district’s Lion Electric buses Jan. 15. The buses have been largely kept off the road by maintenance and mechanical problems since the district received them a year and a half ago. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

Belford, the EPA spokesperson, said safety is the department’s No. 1 priority and that it is working with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to provide school districts with support to receive technical assistance, information on battery safety and training for first responders.

HOW MUCH DO THEY COST? 

Cressey said in about a year and a half, W.C. Cressey & Son has sold around 30 electric buses to schools in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, citing price as the biggest roadblock in purchasing.

Cressey said he has seen electric school buses range in price from $300,000 to $400,000.

The Clean School Bus Program awards school districts on a lottery basis. Priority schools can receive up to $345,000 per bus, plus a charging station, which can cost $10,000-$60,000. Nonpriority schools can receive up to $200,000.

Electric school buses cost more to purchase than diesel school buses, so it can be difficult for school districts to purchase the buses on their own.

“In order to increase the adoption, EV bus prices, which continue to be notably higher than comparable diesel buses, need to continue to drop,” Belford said.

HOW MANY EV SCHOOL BUSES ARE IN MAINE? 

According to Pender Makin, commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, 30 school districts across Maine received a total of 72 electric buses through the EPA-run program so far. Many were from Lion Electric, but others were manufactured by Thomas Built Buses and IC Bus.

However, Makin said, the Lion Electric buses are the only buses to consistently have problems.