At first, it was about getting electric school buses on the road. Now, tracking how far they’ve traveled helps us better aggregate their impact and how quickly deployments are expanding alongside them.

In this alternative fuel roundup, we take a look at the latest moves, product announcements, and deployments, including news from Summit School Services, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Bibb County School District, and Highland Electric Fleets.

Summit School Services’ Electric School Buses Pass Major Mileage Milestone

Summit School Services recently shared that its local operating brands, Durham School Services and A&S Transportation, have surpassed 607,000 combined miles driven by their electric school bus fleets. This milestone achievement spans across three locations:

• Cumberland, Rhode Island (Durham School Services)
• Compton, California (Durham School Services)
• New Orleans, Louisiana (A&S Transportation)

Durham’s Cumberland location, which serves Blackstone Valley Prep, currently boasts over 277,000 clean miles driven by its fleet of 24 electric school buses, while on the west coast, Compton Unified School District is just 3,000 miles shy of reaching 100,000 clean miles with its fleet of 25 buses.

A&S Transportation and its two partners, InspireNOLA Charter Schools and New Orleans Charter Science & Mathematics High School, have tracked 233,000 total miles with their fleets of 42 and 9 buses, respectively.

In the future, Summit’s local operating brands and their school district partners in Florida, Michigan, and Massachusetts will join the company’s sustainability journey by introducing new fleets of electric school buses. An additional 140+ electric school buses are anticipated to be deployed.

“What an extraordinary achievement and milestone by our teams and school district partners,” said Wayne Skinner, senior vice president of fleet, maintenance, and procurement at Summit School Services. “It is incredible to see such tremendous, green strides being made towards creating a more sustainable, safe world for our students to live, learn, and grow in.

New Alternative Fuel Deployments

With previous funding pipelines and infrastructure taking shape, electric school bus deployments are being delivered nationwide. Districts are not only adding vehicles but also building the operational frameworks needed to support long-term electrification through charging networks and workforce training.

Michigan District Unveils First Electric School Buses

Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) in Michigan debuted its first seven electric school buses on Monday, April 20. However, as part of an ongoing partnership with Dean Transportation, the district has installed charging infrastructure to support 15 electric Thomas Built buses. The eight additional buses are expected to arrive soon.

According to MLive.com, the addition of electric buses is the latest transportation innovation by GRPS, as the district last month announced the launch of school bus cameras to catch illegal passings.

The buses are funded by a $5.2 million federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a $1.5 million grant from the state of Michigan. In 2024, the state’s budget included $125 million to establish a Clean Bus Energy program.

The program “covers up to 70% of the cost of an electric school bus, charging station, and infrastructure for public school districts, with high-need districts qualifying for up to 90% of funding covered,” according to the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation.

As of February, 2026, the program has removed 376 diesel buses from operation, MLive.com reported.

Illinois District Adds New Electric Buses for 2026-27 School Year

Ten new electric school buses will serve students in the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Illinois beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

The district already has one electric school bus in its rotation. By the start of the 2026-27 school year, approximately 20% of District 65’s buses will be electric, according to Karen Bireta, the district’s sustainability coordinator.

According to The Daily Northwestern, the buses were partially funded by a federal grant awarded to Student Transportation of America and its subsidiary, Positive Connections, which serves District 65. In spring 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program awarded the company more than $12 million to deploy 32 electric buses across five districts.

As part of a spring 2026 onboarding process, “drivers and other personnel will undergo specialized training relevant to their positions on operating, maintaining, and handling the new buses.”

Superintendent Angel Turner noted that the buses would help the district reduce air pollution while showing students “what it looks like to take care of the world around us.”

Georgia District Announces 15 Electric School Buses

Bibb County School District will introduce 15 electric school buses and support charging infrastructure, marking the district's first step toward fleet electrification. Bibb County School District hosted a ribbon-cutting event on April 23 at the district’s bus depot.

The buses, which are Type C electric school buses manufactured by Blue Bird Corporation, will be deployed as part of a “broader effort to strengthen day-to-day fleet operations.”

Highland Electric Fleets is supporting the charging infrastructure and managing daily charging to help ensure the fleet is ready for regular routes without requiring additional oversight from district staff.

"Having these chargers on our property will create an ease of access for our drivers to make sure these buses remain fully available for our students and our schools," said Anthony Jackson, executive director of transportation at Bibb County School District. "This provides the only available option for refueling without the fumes and mess of other alternatives."