California’s Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is moving to an all-electric school bus fleet.
The school district is working alongside Zum, a student transportation company, to deploy 74 electric buses.
OUSD will be the “first major school district in the U.S. to transition to a 100% electrified school bus system,” according to a press release. “This first-in-the-nation EV fleet is also equipped with groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, enabling the buses to return energy to the grid at scale when not in use.”
“Today marks an exciting milestone in student transportation,” said Founder and CEO of Zum Ritu Narayan. “By converting Oakland Unified’s school bus fleet to 100% electric, we are showing that sustainability solutions are here – and can positively impact an entire community. Electric school buses with V2G capability create cleaner transportation and send untapped energy from bus batteries back to the grid. It’s a win-win for children, families, schools and drivers.”
OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell said the move to electric buses is a “landmark achievement.”
“Zum’s electric school buses provide our students quieter, cleaner rides to and from school, giving them a better chance at success in the classroom, while ensuring the District is doing its part to cut down on air pollution to the benefit of all Oakland residents,” Johnson-Trammell said.
The Biden administration previously gave $900 million to “green” school bus endeavors. Forty-seven states received the funds.
