Electric school buses on their way to Central New York school districts

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – The wheels on the bus go round and round, and soon, the buses in New York State will all be electric.

“It’s a little bit of a challenge just like you said, learning everything that we need to learn to make a good decision and try to be good stewards of our financial resources, as well as adhere to the mandate,” Christy Pavetto, a member of the Baldwinsville School Board, said.

The training to best use an electric bus is crucial, which is why people attended an informational session to prepare for the changes ahead.

“But also the driver and how to efficiently drive it and technicians on how to tell the differences between internal combustion and electric, but again at the end of the day, making sure that when we deliver a bus everybody is trained to make sure they know what to do in every situation,” Jeremy Johnston, the Director of Sales for New York Bus Sales, said.

Learning what’s most efficient and giving schools the tools they’ll need to advocate for themselves.

“There are different programs and incentives that the state has, as well as federally. It all depends on having the time to fill out the application and making sure you meet every qualification, making sure that you give every piece of information,” Ashley Stoltz, the Executive Assistant of Central New York’s School Boards Association, said.

Plus, the group got to go on a little field trip of their own.

“Well, it was certainly a lot quieter. We didn’t get a lot of the smells that we usually get with the school bus, so it seemed like a pretty pleasant experience,” Pavetto said.

Getting people up to speed for the electric transition.

By 2027, New York school districts will be mandated to only buy electric vehicles, and are expected to have fully electric fleets by 2035.