Did you know that we have two fully electric school buses for Charlottesville City Schools? 

The City was able to buy them because we got funding from the Clean School Bus Program through the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and Dominion Energy paid for the charging stations.

You might ask why this is important. Well, first of all, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse emissions in the United States. When there are too many greenhouse gasses, it traps too much heat in our atmosphere and that affects habitats and our climate. 

And tail pipe fumes from diesel engines can cause many types of breathing problems for the kids riding the bus, especially if they have asthma. 

Another reason why electric school buses are good is they are quiet so the people in the bus can hear each other more easily if there is a problem. 

I got to specially interview the driver for one of the CCS electric buses and take a ride on it. The driver has a route where all of the riders are special needs kids and their aides. He said he noticed that the quieter electric buses calmed the kids, and let them communicate more easily with their aides. 

The electric buses have increased safety features, too. 

They have a camera display of all the angles around the bus embedded in the rear view mirrors, even the top of the bus like it’s from a satellite! 

When the driver is done with his route and turns off the bus, he can’t open the door until he presses a button in the back of the bus. This helps him make sure no kids fell asleep on the drive and missed their bus stop. The driver also said he can make sure no cell phones or musical instruments or other stuff gets left behind. If something was left on the bus, he can put it in the lost and found. 

Charlottesville City Schools hopes to get more electric buses when they have more funding, but even just two buses makes a big difference for every kid who gets to ride them because it improves their health and their safety.