CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — They’re not exactly magic school buses but Chesterfield Schools’ two new electric buses will help reduce emissions, noise and cost.
Chesterfield County Public Schools became the first school district in the Richmond metro area to add electric school buses to its fleet. There was a plug-in ceremony held on Thursday morning to celebrate the new additions.
The buses were provided by Dominion Energy’s Electric School Bus Program. They were sold to the school district at the same cost as a traditional diesel bus.
Unlike a traditional diesel bus, the school district will only need to worry about keeping these charged and not about gas. Switching to an electric bus also decreases air pollution and maintenance needs.
“One there is a health benefit, there’s reduced noise, it’s improved air quality and also there is a cost benefit, over the life of the bus we are expecting to see significantly less maintenance spend,’ said Fleet Manager Craig Willingham.
After charging for three hours the buses can travel around 135 miles.
Dominion’s bus program will distribute 50 electric school buses total to Virginia school districts.
