Cuba school district tests electric buses; Rio Rancho schools wants fleet

CUBA — The wheels on the bus go round and round.

But not without a battery.

While Rio Rancho Public Schools took the first step last week to purchasing its own electric school bus fleet, the Cuba Independent School District began test-driving one as part of a statewide pilot project.

The local interest in the technology comes as an increasing number of school districts throughout the country are contracting for electric buses, an alternative to vehicles that have traditionally run on gas.

The Cuba school district unveiled its first electric bus on Wednesday.

“The overall reaction the other morning when the kids boarded — you kind of saw their eyes light up — like, ‘Hey, this is different! This is cool!’” said Christopher Trujillo, transportation director for Cuba schools.

The bus, which transports around 18 students, was made possible by the “New Mexico All-Electric Purpose-Built, Zero-Emission School Bus Pilot Project,” funded by the Legislature, according to a news release.

“We’re totally excited about it,” Superintendent Rhiannon Chavez said. “We’ve heard a lot of good things about electric vehicles.”

The project is a two-year partnership between the state and GreenPower Motor Company, a Canadian-based bus provider. The two entities want to explore the viability of electric buses, which come at no cost to the participating school districts. School districts will get to keep an electric school bus and charger even after their participation ends in six weeks.

As the buses are driven, data will be collected through onboard telematics, according to information provided by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. The department will host a debriefing roundtable to hear insights and suggestions from school officials.

Chavez first heard about the program in July and was immediately interested, given her students’ bus routes are two hours long, often traveling on dirt roads. Mark Roper, an EDD division director, cited the unique routes of rural school districts as one of the reasons why it’s important to test electric school buses under the program.

Cuba schools, which maintains a fleet of 15 buses, is testing the new bus on a route that is 80 miles roundtrip. On that route, Trujillo said, the fully charged bus came back with 30% battery life remaining.

“It makes us feel good that we’re contributing to these efforts,” he said.

In Rio Rancho, the RRPS school board unanimously approved $4 million for EV school buses and charging stations on Nov. 17, stemming from funding made available through Senate Bill 45.

As part of a pilot program, RRPS will use $2.6 million to purchase six electric buses, while the remaining $1.4 million will be spent on vehicle chargers, according to Nick Brook, the school district’s executive director of transportation.

“Starting with six buses is the most responsible and strategic approach as we introduce this new technology,” Brook told board members.

That number of buses will allow the school district to evaluate the vehicles’ performance and collect data on them, he said.

Overall, Brook said, the introduction of electric buses to RRPS will allow the district to “modernize our fleet and reduce emissions, which aligns with the state’s long-term goals.”

RRPS Superintendent Sue Cleveland responded, in part, that electric buses “are getting better all the time” and lawmakers increasingly see the vehicles as “a critical part of the bus fleet” in the state.

Brook said the pilot program RRPS wants to participate in is not the same as the one Cuba is involved with. The difference is that if RRPS gets electric buses, it can keep them and does not have to report back to the state, Brook said. The school district chose not to participate in the GreenPower pilot program because it applied for SB45 funding first, he said.