Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Transportation budget review highlights EV buses, charging costs, driver shortages and route‑navigation tech
Summary
Transportation staff presented a FY26 budget with a reduced fuel forecast, line items for EV charging, an evaluation of EV operating costs, plans to acquire route‑navigation tablets for drivers, and continuing recruitment challenges for bus drivers and substitutes.
The Powhatan County Schools transportation director presented a FY26 budget that reduced the vehicle fuel forecast and set aside funds for EV charging, route‑navigation technology, increased parts and vehicle replacement costs, and continuing driver recruitment needs.
Key numbers and proposals in the presentation: the division set vehicle fuel at $600,000 for FY26 (down from prior levels), increased vehicle parts and supplies budgets to cover rising parts costs, and included $34,000 in the budget labeled "EV charging." Transportation staff reported that so far this fiscal year they had paid about $16,006.27 for EV charging (six payments to date) and used that as the basis for the $34,000 projection. The director recommended adding on‑board route navigation/tablet devices to remove paper route books from drivers; an initial estimate of the background services and device licensing was roughly $42,000 with an ongoing software‑as‑a‑service (SaaS) cost of about $8,000 annually.
Staff told the board that the division is also evaluating vehicle replacement needs for aging vans and the white fleet; the draft budget includes roughly $88,000 for vehicle replacement (sufficient to purchase two vans, staff said). Transportation leaders noted the driver shortage and that certain routes for private day schools have been handled by parents for pay; two newly processed drivers were reported as nearly ready to start. Board members asked staff to develop a comparison of EV bus operating and maintenance costs versus diesel buses so the board can decide whether future EV purchases are worthwhile; staff agreed to try to produce that analysis.
