KDSN RADIO News
Logan-Magnolia Replacing Half of Fleet With Electric Buses
The Logan-Magnolia school district is among 12 statewide to receive federal funding to purchase electric school buses. Superintendent Tom Ridder says they will buy five EV buses to replace half of the district’s entire fleet.
"I really believe that we have to protect the environment for future generations and these electric buses will eliminate some of the pollution caused by the present buses and I'm excited about that. I think everyone here is pretty excited about it," Ridder says.
He says EV buses will easily cover even the longest bus route in the western Iowa district at 100 miles with charges in between runs.
"They do have electric buses running in Alaska where it gets to 48 degrees below zero. We told them the number of miles that we usually run on our daily bus route and they will be fully charged for every time we hit the road," Ridder says.
He says the buses will sound different but look familiar to students and drivers.
"They look like a regular school bus, they drive like a regular school bus, and they all have seat belts so the safety factor is there. We'll get our kids to and from school safer than we are now," Ridder says.
Ridder says federal rebates will likely cover the full cost of purchasing the buses, but the district must pay to install chargers. The program was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year. More than 11 million dollars was awarded to Iowa schools to purchase a total of 30 EV buses. Logan-Magnolia can receive up to two million dollars for the new electric-powered buses.
