From the outside they may look like just another standard yellow school bus, but four vehicles rolling through the streets of Bay Shore are dramatically different under the hood.
Suffolk Transportation Service, which provides daily service to 6,600 students of the Bay Shore School District, is operating four 100 percent electric school buses which have rolled off the production line from Blue Bird Corporation, a leading school bus manufacturer highly focused on alternative fuel technologies.
Able to travel up to 120 miles on a charge, the Blue Bird buses powered by a Cummins electric drive train produce zero emissions and require far less maintenance than diesel equipment. The four Bay Shore buses are part of the first production line series of electric buses (not development model, hybrid or retrofit) from Blue Bird, and were purchased by the school district through an Environmental Protection Agency grant coordinated by Suffolk Transportation Service and Robert McBride Consulting. Approximately 100 Blue Bird electric buses were introduced during the 2019-20 school year in California, Colorado and New Jersey – and the Bay Shore buses, procured from Bird Bus Sales, are the first fully electric production line from Blue Bird operating on Long Island.
“The school bus of the future is here today,” noted Suffolk Transportation Service President John Corrado. “These fully electric buses are clean, efficient and provide a smooth, quiet ride. A typical bus consumes 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel each school year, so just through this purchase the Bay Shore School District is reducing consumption of fossil fuel by nearly 6,000 gallons and lowering its carbon footprint.”
“As a school district and community leaders, it is imperative for us to model good citizenship to our young residents, and part of that means being good environmental stewards, said Superintendent Joseph Bond. “The addition of these four electric buses will greatly reduce the impact of transporting our students to and from school, and will continue Bay Shore’s mission to reduce our overall carbon footprint. I would like to thank Suffolk Transportation for being such great partners with the school district, both in environmental stewardship and in keeping our most precious resource safe day in and day out. I would also like to thank the Environmental Protection Agency for providing the funding to make it possible for these buses to be added to the fleet at no additional cost to Bay Shore taxpayers.”
According to Richard Gallager, Director of Transportation for Bay Shore, the cost to operate a diesel bus is $0.75 per mile while an electric bus runs at $0.17 per mile, as there are fewer moving parts requiring care and repair. The buses are able to fully charge overnight.
I am excited for the first line of fully electric Blue Bird buses to become available in the Bay Shore School District! This initiative will help reduce the children’s exposure to harmful emissions and our overall carbon footprint,” said NYS Senator Monica R. Martinez. “This transition to electric school buses provides children and the community with cleaner air. I commend the efforts of Suffolk Transportation Service and the Bay Shore School District as I am proud to support this transition to protect the health of children throughout our community!”
“The nation is increasingly interested in electric vehicles of all types, and we anticipate rapid growth of electric school buses as more districts are educated on the zero-emissions and low-maintenance benefits they bring to their local communities,” said Blue Bird President and CEO Phil Horlock.
“EPA is partnering with the Bay Shore Union Free School District to scrap the older, dirty buses to ensure that they will not be put back on the road,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “We are progressively reducing diesel pollution and will soon make that familiar black puff of smoke a relic of the past. Reducing air pollution from diesel engines has enormous benefits for the health of our children and our communities.”
Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said, “The time has come to transition away from diesel school buses, which pollute our air, harm the health of our children, and contribute to climate change. Electrifying our school bus fleets is a win-win: good for our children and good for our environment. That’s why we are excited to see that there will be four new electric school buses for Bay Shore students. We hope that this program will set the stage for more electric school buses across Long Island and New York State. We commend Suffolk Transportation Service and Blue Bird for launching this exciting project.”
“It’s exciting that the yellow school bus is getting a make-over to green in Bay Shore. To combat climate change, everyone needs to do their part, including schools. Emission-free rides to school eliminates polluting diesel fumes, fosters healthy communities, and protects the environment. Other schools need to follow Bay Shore and get on the Green bus,” stated Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
“100 percent electric school buses are the cleaner, healthier and smarter way to provide transportation and they benefit students, parents and taxpayers,” said Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of renewable Energy Long Island. “The Bay Shore School District and Suffolk Transportation Service must be commended for leading by example and serving as a role model for others.”
For over 70 years, Suffolk Transportation Service has been a leading provider of school bus transportation and along with its public transit affiliate (Suffolk Bus Corp.) operates a fleet of over 1,600 vehicles and employs more than 2,700 Long Islanders.
