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Merced City School District installs electric school buses and charging network, cites emissions cut
Summary
Dr. Doug Williams, the district’s maintenance and transportation director, described a nearly three‑year project that added 10 electric buses to a 32‑bus fleet, installed 18 charging ports and used about $7.3 million in grant funding toward an almost $8.2 million total cost.
Dr. Doug Williams, director of maintenance, operation and transportation for Merced City School District, said the district has added 10 electric school buses to its 32‑bus transportation fleet and installed on‑site charging infrastructure.
“The electric charging structure that we installed features 18 charging ports across 15 dual and single port charging stations,” Williams said, adding that the chargers range from 30 kilowatts to 60 kilowatts and “you can charge a full bus in 4 hours.”
Williams said the three‑year project, which began in 2022, has a total cost of almost $8.2 million and that the district “was awarded $7.3 million for the cost of construction and the cost to purchase the electric buses.” He described the move as part of the district’s effort “to meet the 20350 zero emissions requirements set forth by Governor Nome.”
Williams credited partnerships with outside contractors and agencies, naming F&H Construction, Golden Valley Engineering and A Toz Bus Sist as contributors to the work and thanking the Sanwanka Valley Air District for support. He framed the initiative as a public‑health and safety measure: “we’re taking steps to make the community safer by reducing the carbon footprint and the emissions reduction within the community in the city of Merced.”
The district did not provide a department breakdown of how the remaining project cost beyond the grant award was paid, nor did Williams provide documentation in the remarks to substantiate the 30% emissions reduction figure he cited. He said the district expects the electric fleet and charging infrastructure to continue serving students and families as it completes implementation.
