Today, First Student joined the Westville School District in celebrating the coming deployment of 15 new electric school buses. 

Westville School District will replace 15 of the district’s diesel-fueled buses with new, emissions-free electric buses, including 14 Type C IC buses and one Type-A Micro Bird. The buses come thanks to funding from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program. 

The district will use First Charge, First Student’s above-ground charging solution, to support the transition.

First Student also partnered with Ameren, the power utility in the area, which covered the costs of the transformer, the installation of the transformer, and any upgrades needed on the utility side.

“Electric school buses provide cleaner, quieter, and safer rides to school for students, and we are thrilled to partner with the Westville School District to make this a reality for this community,” said Kevin McNamara, First Student senior director of charging. “We thank our partners in the Westville School District for trusting us as we continue to improve rides for all students.”

The company noted that replacing just one diesel school bus with an electric one can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54,000 pounds annually.  

“The Westville School District is proud to have secured funding from the Clean School Bus Program and to be able to work with First Student to bring these 15 electric school buses to our community,” said Dr. Seth Miller, Westville School District Superintendent. “Fiscally and environmentally smart choices for cleaner, greener, and cost-efficient solutions are the cornerstone of our work as educational leaders. Electric school buses are just one way we are investing in the future of our children at Westville.”

The school held a ribbon-cutting event today to celebrate the planned deployment. The event included a ride-along in an electric school bus for those in attendance. 

To date, First Student has secured more than $400 million in funding from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program for school districts across the country to assist. It also recently marked 4 million miles driven by its electric school buses. By the end of this school year, First Student will pass 6 million electric miles driven and will reduce carbon emissions by 12,550 tons.