(KRON) — Oakland became the first school district in the nation to have a fully electric fleet of school buses today. In partnership with the Oakland Unified School District and Zum, a student transportation company, manufacturers said all 74 of these school buses will also be providing energy to the city when not in use.
“Oakland becoming the first in the nation to have a 100% electric school bus fleet is a huge win for the Oakland community and the nation as a whole,” said Kim Raney, Executive Director of Transportation at Oakland Unified School District.
Much of the transfer to electrification involves reducing emissions. Zum reports that student transportation is the largest mass transit system in the nation, moving 27 million students twice daily.
Over 90% of the nation’s 500,000 school buses run on carbon-based fuels, releasing over 8.4 million tons of greenhouse gases annually and exposing students and communities to harmful gases every day.
“The families of Oakland are disproportionately disadvantaged and affected by high rates of asthma and exposure to air pollution from diesel fuels. Providing our students with cleaner and quieter transportation on electric school buses will be a game changer, ensuring they have an equitable and stronger chance of success in the classroom,” Raney said.
With the incorporation of Zum’s EV fleets, manufacturers vouge for reduced carbon emissions, improved transportation efficiency, and saved costs and time.
Reduced costs aside, the student transportation company also expects to be giving energy back to the power grid whenever not in use.
Zum has set a goal of electrifying 10,000 school buses, which could supply one million kilowatt hours of energy to power grids annually. To put that into perspective, refrigerators are said to consume an average of 350 kilowatts per year.
Much of the transition is credited to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Zum’s utility partner. According to Zum, PG&E was able to provide over 2700 kilowatts to their EV facility in Oakland, also where PG&E’s headquarters are based.
The transportation company plans on tackling San Francisco and Los Angeles school districts next– what they estimate to be three to six times the size of their Oakland bus fleet.
