Student Transportation of America Creates Electric Vehicle Program

June 3, 2021

A electric school bus being charged. Interest in electric is expanding across the U.S.

Ronald Halley, the vice president of fleet and facilities for Student Transportation of America (STA), was appointed to lead the company’s new Electric Vehicle Pilot Program, as STA plans on introducing electric buses to select markets on the East and West Coast this summer.

Announced on Thursday, STA stated that Halley will oversee all aspects of the program. This includes its rollout, partnerships, and data collection. Halley’s team will also be tracking battery life, monitoring component life, and collecting other key data. The bus contractor operates 16,000 vehicles across North America.

“The Electric Vehicle Pilot Program is a natural progression of our good work in propane and lower-emission alternatives,” Halley stated. “I look forward to working with my team and local leadership, as well as infrastructure suppliers and manufacturers, as STA moves even further into eco-conscious student transportation.”

The information collected by the Electric Vehicle Pilot Program will give STA “actionable intelligence into the performance of electric vehicles in distinct operating environments,” a press release stated.

Halley added that STA plans to launch electric vehicles in strategically selected neighborhoods, with different traffic and weather patterns that could affect overall performance. “What we learn we can apply toward the future,” he added, noting that the first electric bus locations will be announced in the coming months. “This is the next phase of a long-term commitment that will benefit our passengers and our planet.”

Halley is a 45-year veteran of the transportation industry and joined STA in 2012. As vice president of fleet and facilities, he is responsible for designing and coordinating maintenance processes and new facilities for STA’s vehicles throughout the country. He also leads the company’s alternative fuel program and works closely with manufacturing and energy partners to further expand the company’s fleet of lower-emission vehicles.

Halley has played a role in the company’s adoption of alternative fuel vehicles such as biofuels, compressed natural gas, electric and propane. In 2012, STA purchased 400 propane-powered vehicles, becoming the largest all-propane school bus fleet in the U.S, to serve public schools in Omaha, Nebraska.

To date, STA has replaced more than 2,000 diesel school buses with alternative-fuel vehicles.