The city school system has entered into a public-private partnership with Massachusetts-based Highland Electric Fleets, which plans to install 25 chargers to fuel 20 electric school buses during the 2023-24 academic year, the company announced Tuesday.
Funded through a combination of federal and state grants and tax credits, the 12-year contract is similar to Highland’s partnership with the Montgomery County school system, which is operating more than 300 electric school buses. The company will hold the title to the buses and install the infrastructure to charge them, while the city school system will pay a mileage fee to exclusively operate the vehicles, said Highland CEO Duncan McIntyre.
Urban school systems like Baltimore City typically struggle to roll out cleaner transportation in part because of the high cost of the electric vehicles — $250,000 or more compared to about $100,000 to $150,000 for diesel buses — and required infrastructure upgrades, McIntyre said. The public-private partnership removes the upfront cost of procurement, outfitting the bus depot and training drivers and mechanics while costing the district less than it spends to own, operate and maintain diesel buses.
“We are excited that by electrifying our school bus fleet, we will contribute to cleaner air for students and staff, and for our entire community,” said Lynette Washington, the city school system’s chief operating officer, in a news release. “We were able to embrace this innovation in student transportation as a result of partnerships like the one we have with Highland. They have been a great partner in helping us develop and launch our electric bus program.”
School system leaders worked with Highland to secure $9.4 million from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, which seeks to fund equitable transportation for historically marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change. Baltimore City children have asthma at rates more than twice the national average. The partnership is also relying on grants from Maryland Energy Administration and a tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, McIntyre said.
Baltimore City school system offers transportation for select groups including pre-kindergarten students, elementary students who live more than a mile from school, and students who are homeless, receiving special education services or lack safe routes to walk. Middle and high school students who live more than a mile and a half from their schools use the Maryland Transit Administration buses, light rail and subway to commute.
Highland officials hope to expand their footprint in Baltimore City and across the state in the coming years, McIntyre said. Maryland’s General Assembly recently approved the Climate Solutions Now Act, which in part pilots an electric school bus program.
“Our goal is to build a durable industry in Maryland where all buses will be electric in a few years in terms of the new ones being added to fleets,” he said. “We’re confident in Baltimore City that will be the reality within a year or two as well. We’re investing in the state.”
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