San Francisco schools begin rolling out electric school buses

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has begun deploying electric buses in the first phase of a transition to an all-electric school bus fleet.

In May, the district announced plans to deploy 104 electric school buses this year, and an additional 134 next year. Details of the buses, including the identity of the manufacturer(s), have not been publicly reported, to the best of our knowledge.

The fleet will use vehicle-to-grid technology, allowing buses to return stored energy to the electrical grid when not transporting students. According to transportation operator Zum, the V2G system will have a capacity of approximately 3 GWh.

“San Francisco presents one of the most unique operating environments in the country, and this milestone is the result of an enormous amount of work and collaboration,” said Tomas Beccar-Varela, Transportation Director at San Francisco Unified School District. “We are not simply introducing new vehicles—we are building a cleaner, more modern student mobility system.”

“I’ve been driving school buses in San Francisco for 26 years, and it’s thrilling to see our fleet take this next step,” said Angela Watson, Vice President of SMART Local 1741 and a San Francisco school bus driver for 26 years.” Drivers are looking forward to these electric buses. They’re quieter, cleaner and better for our drivers, our students and the communities we drive through every day.”

Source: Zum