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Ocean View wins three grant-funded electric buses worth about $1.1 million
Summary
The Ocean View School District showed three grant-funded Micro Bird electric school buses, awarded by the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District. Staff said the buses were provided at no cost and will be phased in while infrastructure, charging and training needs are addressed.
Ocean View School District trustees on Jan. 27 viewed the district’s first electric school buses and heard staff outline plans to phase them into regular service.
The district’s Executive Director of Maintenance and Transportation told the board the district was awarded three Micro Bird electric buses through a North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District grant “at no cost to the district,” and said “the value of these 3 buses is $1,100,000.” He said the vehicles will replace buses roughly 35 to 40 years old and are wheelchair-accessible.
The presentation said portable chargers are already in place for the three vehicles and that staff are pursuing additional infrastructure grants so the district would not have to shoulder full charging-station costs. Staff described key technical details during a question-and-answer period: a full charge from empty can take about 10 hours, range is about 140 miles under typical conditions, and the buses use regenerative braking to recover energy. Staff also said CHP (California Highway Patrol) inspections are complete and certificates are on file for each bus.
Trustees pressed staff on logistical and fiscal questions: whether charging infrastructure or training would require district investments, how many additional buses the district could realistically add, and whether the fleet should remain diversified for emergency redundancy. Staff said they are applying for separate vehicle and infrastructure grants (one potential vehicle grant would cover up to nine additional larger buses) and estimated those larger buses at about $400,000 each; if awarded, the district might be responsible for roughly 20 percent of the vehicle cost. The transportation director said the district is coordinating with Southern California Edison and exploring opportunities to coordinate infrastructure work with other nearby districts to reduce costs.
Trustees also toured a bus parked on-site. Staff demonstrated the wheelchair lift, interior camera systems and under-hood controls, and said mechanics and drivers will receive training as buses are phased in.
Next steps: staff will continue pursuing infrastructure and vehicle grants, develop a timeline for phased implementation and training, and return to the board with additional details as funding and installation plans solidify.
