NEW YORK, N.Y. Zenobē, a global leader in fleet electrification, has partnered with Educational Bus Transportation, Inc. (EBT), a school transportation provider in New York’s Nassau and Suffolk Counties, on a fleet electrification project serving Long Island’s Copiague Public Schools.
The project encompasses an initial phase of 10 electric school buses and associated charging infrastructure. The 10 electric school buses will be placed into service and provide clean zero-emission transportation for the district’s 4,500 kindergarten through 12th grade students. It is supported by the New York School Bus Incentive Program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Zenobēprovided additional funding.
Zenobē will develop and manage the charging infrastructure at the site, which will include a scalable design that allows EBT, and its managing company The Trans Group, to continue expanding the electric fleet. The Trans Group companies currently own and operate over 1,400 buses across the pupil transportation and transit sectors.
“As a long-time provider of transportation services to Long Islanders, we’re excited to continue the process of bringing clean school buses to our students and drivers,” said Tim Flood, Executive Vice President, The Trans Group. “The combination of NYSERDA funding and Zenobē’s experience and knowledge are vital to keep our successful transition to clean rides for our students on track.”
“We look forward to supporting EBT and The Trans Group and being a part of New York State’s ambition to progress toward cleaner and healthier student transportation options,” said Maggie Clancy, Executive Vice President for Zenobē. “We see our role as providing more than just technical services and support. We’re delivering confidence and peace-of-mind through battery performance guarantees, cost-efficient charge management services, and partnership to make this fleet both operationally reliable and financially sustainable.”
As part of the turnkey fleet electrification services provided to EBT, Zenobē will manage the fleet’s batteries and charging infrastructure and guarantee performance, ensuring that EBT’s buses are at-the-ready for their required routes and the important job of transporting students safely to school. To futureproof the depot, EBT and Zenobē are working closely with the local power provider to coordinate power availability to serve the fleet as it expands.
NYSERDA Director of Clean Transportation Adam Ruder said, “NYSERDA is proud to support Educational Bus Transportation and its partner Zenobē to bring electric school buses to Long Island’s Copiague Public Schools. Together we are ensuring that students and the communities they live in benefit from clean vehicles that reduce pollution and improve air quality.”
“This project shows how private capital and public funding can work together to accelerate transport decarbonization,” said Shreya Malik, Managing Director at KKR, an investor in Zenobē. “Zenobē’s strategic partnership with EBT demonstrates how proven fleet electrification platforms can help operators meet state mandates while delivering affordable, cleaner and more sustainable transportation for local communities. We’re proud to support Zenobē as it scales its solutions across North America.”
Programs such as the New York School Bus Incentive Program, funded by New York’s Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, when paired with technology solutions from the private sector and other resources like Zenobē’s private capital and expertise, are putting more electric school buses on New York State’s roadways.
About Zenobē Energy Ltd. (Zenobē):
Zenobē is a global EV fleet and grid-scale battery storage specialist. The company began operations in 2017 and now employs >380 FTEs with a wide range of leading skills including electrical engineering, software development, computer sciences and financing. Zenobēsupports over 3,400 electric vehicles across 122 depots globally and is the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Zenobē is also the leading owner and operator of grid-scale batteries on the Great Britain transmission network with >1GW of battery storage assets in operation or under construction. Zenobē’s North American headquarters are in Chicago with a subsidiary office in New York and it is actively hiring in Canada and the U.S. For more information visit Zenobe.com or LinkedIn.
About EBT and The Trans Group:
EBT (Educational Bus Transportation, Inc.) provides public school transportation for school districts in Nassau County and western Suffolk County, NY, including Copiague, Massapequa, Amityville, Seaford, Wantagh, Farmingdale, South Huntington, Half Hollow Hills, Bethpage, Hicksville and Western Suffolk BOCES. It is a managed entity of The Trans Group which provides transportation to hundreds of thousands of passengers annually in lower New York State and Long Island. With more than 1,300 vehicles and over 2000 employees, The Trans Group is actively involved in the school bus industry on the state and federal level. For more information visit: thetransgroup.com.
