Kilgore ISD awarded $1.5 million grant to replace diesel buses with electric

KILGORE, Texas (KETK) – Kilgore ISD announced on Thursday that they were awarded a $1.5 million grant to replace older diesel buses with new electric buses.

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Kilgore ISD was awarded the grant by the Environmental Protection Agency as a part of their Clean School Bus Program. Kilgore ISD said the grant allowed for up to $375,000 per bus for replacement and $20,000 per bus for charging infrastructure.

“These students who get on and ride these buses won’t be experiencing the possibility of having any side effects from being exposed to fumes, to exhaust fumes from the vehicles,” Brady Wheeler, Director of Transportation for Kilgore ISD, said. “That’s a big plus for us. We’re always looking for ways to get the most state-of-the-art and safest transportation for our students because we care about our students.”

The school said that the new electric busses have a range of 120 miles between charging and will be able to reliably provide transportation throughout the district.

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Kilgore ISD said that with the grant they were able to replace 2010 or older year model diesel buses with 2022 or newer year model busses that have little to no emissions, as well as two charging stations capable of charging two buses each.

“We are thrilled to introduce these electric buses to our fleet, and we are very grateful to receive the grant funding to make this transition possible,” Wheeler said.

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