Pioneer Transportation Corp., a school transport company that carries more than 40,000 students every day in New York City, has signed a 5-year contract with AMPLY Power to install and manage charging infrastructure for five battery-operated electric buses.

The fleet is expected to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2022, according to a news release.

“School bus operators like Pioneer Transportation play a crucial role in New York City’s transportation infrastructure,” said Vic Shao, founder and CEO of AMPLY Power. “Our service model and price-per-mile-driven billing structure enable simple and affordable electrification of even the largest and most active fleets, like those supporting the daily operations of the New York City school district, the largest school system in the U.S.”

AMPLY is collaborating with Con Edison, the city’s electricity provider, to establish a new, dedicated line-of-service for the converted battery electric buses (BEBs) stationed at Pioneer’s location in the Bronx, which also will host five Level 2 (L2) chargers. Con Edison is granting incentives to offset the rates of the new charging infrastructure, which is designed to avoid disruptive construction at Pioneer Transportation’s lot. AMPLY will provide comprehensive support services, including infrastructure maintenance and management, utility rate negotiation, charging strategy, and financing support. Also, Pioneer is working with Unique Electric Solutions (UES), an existing AMPLY Power partner, to convert five buses from diesel to electric.

Neil Strahl, Pioneer Transportation president and CEO, said: "Pioneer Transportation has always been committed to safe and environmentally sustainable school busing. Our partnership with AMPLY Power is helping to make our transition to electric vehicles more accessible and affordable. We look forward to partnering with Mayor-Elect Eric Adams Administration in our drive to 2035 to make New York City the cleanest, safest mode of transportation for our school children and the city.