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Issaquah District accepts three electric buses under Ecology grant, will pilot at Plateau facility
Summary
District officials said they received three large electric buses funded in part by a Department of Ecology grant and will install charging infrastructure at the Plateau transportation facility to pilot routes, with possible future expansion to up to 16 chargers.
Issaquah School District officials told the board Aug. 7 they have taken delivery of three large electric buses purchased with support from a Department of Ecology electric bus grant and plan to pilot the vehicles from the Plateau transportation facility.
Mariah Banasik noted the district received a Department of Ecology electric bus grant for $846,000 (2024–25) and reported that the transportation department "received the 3 large electric buses, and our transportation department is excited to go test those out." Jason Morris, executive director of operations, said charging infrastructure is being installed at the Plateau facility this week and next week and that the system is designed to be expandable to accommodate up to 16 charging stations. Morris said the planned routing approach is to charge buses midday at Plateau and run local plateau-area routes initially, then expand routes as confidence in operations grows.
Morris added the district is completing warranty work and checks to ensure the buses are safety-ready for students; staff said the initial deployment will focus on routes suited to current range and terrain limitations. The board asked for follow-up reporting on bus performance and cost implications as the pilot proceeds.
Next steps: charging infrastructure installation is underway at Plateau; staff will test the buses on local routes and report back to the board on reliability and scalability.
