Electric school buses are coming to Worcester: Here's what to know

WORCESTER ― School buses fully powered by electricity are headed Worcester’s way.

Boston, Fall River and New Bedford are the other districts getting the new buses, paid for by federal dollars from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The announcement came Monday from the offices of U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey.

"After years of fighting for investments in clean energy, I'm glad that we are able to deliver federal funding for a fleet of new electric school buses in Massachusetts," said Warren in a prepared statement. "With this funding, we can reduce health risks from air pollution, boost domestic manufacturing while creating good-paying jobs in the process, and fight the climate crisis for the next generation."

A total of 85 buses will be farmed out to the four districts and it appears 15 are headed to Worcester. That matches the number the district applied for when it requested grant funding from the EPA.

Of the 15 paid for by nearly $6 million in federal funds, 10 are larger buses that each carry roughly 70 passengers. The remaining five are midsize, with 14 seats apiece, that cater to special needs passengers.

Michael Freeman, the district's acting transportation director, cautioned that the district has not received confirmation from the EPA that it received the grant. But Freeman called the announcement by Warren and Markey "pretty exciting news."

As for when the buses could be on the streets, Freeman said it typically takes a year after a grant is awarded, meaning the fiscal 2026 school year. The plan is to see how the buses perform before any decisions are made on bringing more EV school buses on board.

Presently, the district has no EV buses. The entire fleet runs on gasoline and is relatively new. But Freeman said older buses could be phased out, replaced with electric, depending on how the 15 perform.

The EPA grant will also help fund electric bus infrastructure including 15 charging stations planned for the district's parking facility at 115 Northeast Cutoff. The district is waiting to hear if it received a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center that would help pay for the charging stations.

The Worcester schools spent $15.6 million in COVID relief money on 165 gas-powered buses. They were ordered in October 2021, two months after the School Committee voted to bring bus service in-house.

Uncertainty at the time about the reliability of electric buses was cited as a reason to buy the gas-powered buses. Another reason was the high sticker price. EV buses were roughly $350,000 apiece at the time, compared to $100,000 for a full-size one that runs on gasoline.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Electric school buses coming to Worcester thanks to EPA funding