You’ve heard of electric cars. Have you heard of electric school buses?

The first electric school buses in the United States began running a decade ago. Three school districts in California used them. What was it like to ride on an electric bus instead of a diesel bus? Less noisy. Less smelly. Less dirty.

The United States has 489,000 school buses. Fewer than one percent of those were electric at the end of 2023. But that small percentage is growing.

Not every school can go electric though. One big reason? Price. Maybe you’d rather ride on an electric bus. But you’d probably rather pay for a diesel. Electric buses cost twice as much. Sometimes they cost three times as much!

There are more pros and cons. Filling up with diesel gets pricey quickly. The electricity that powers electric buses can be cheaper. But other costs for the e-buses, like building charging stations, add up.

One school district in Detroit bought an electric bus with $300,000 from the government. The bus started running in 2022. Since then, it has been working less than half the time. It needed maintenance. Its operators also needed time to learn how and when to charge it.

Wyoming schools got a chance to buy electric buses too. But authorities decided against it. Why? Electric buses can be hard to store in cold temperatures. Diesel may not be as clean. But for now it’s getting the job done.

Some parents have an extra-important reason to ask for electric buses. Diesel buses give off toxic exhaust. Electric buses are safer for lungs—especially for kids with asthma.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. —  Psalm 121:8