(Audubon) An electric bus is coming to the Audubon School District.
Thanks to an EPA grant which prioritizes rural school districts, Audubon receives a $375,000,000 bus and a $20,000,000 charging station. The only up front cost to the district will be less than $5,000 to install the charging station. “We clearly know that we are guinea pigs and we have a lot to learn on this deal, but from a taxpayer’s standpoint it’s a free school bus. We thought it was hard to pass up on that. We are clear eyed on the fact that this will be a route bus. It won’t be a trip bus. We won’t be driving it to Treynor or Underwood, but it will serve us nicely on a route, day in and day out.”
Superintendent Eric Trager says the bus can be serviced in either Omaha or Des Moines. The range is 125-135 miles. The initial cost of an electric bus is about three times that of a diesel bus, so they’ll be keeping close tabs on things such as their cost of ownership and battery sustainability. “It’s something that’s feasible over the long term if all of the numbers they are giving us are accurate. This is an opportunity for us to learn and see what in theory when you put it in practice on an Iowa four season kind of hot days and cold days and gravel roads and muddy roads and all those things. How do they actually perform? We will learn a lot.”
The Thomas electric bus is expected to arrive in late January, 2024.
Elsewhere, a Public Hearing for the Budget has been set for April 17th at 7:00 p.m. in the board room at the high school. Traeger says they got an extension this year due to a statewide issue with the residential rollback.
