ABC 30 reported the students at Malaga Elementary school in Fresno, California are now riding in a brand-new Blue Bird electric school bus.
The May 28 segment reported that Fowler Unified School District was able to buy the bus, which cost $400,000 that was paid with state and grant funding. The funds came from Assembly Bill 617, the Community Air Protection Program. The bill is focused on improving air quality and reducing exposure to air pollution in California cities, according to KMJNOW.
The district is reportedly the first in the Central Valley with a bus of this type in operation. While Fowler Unified now has one electric school bus in its fleet, Central Unified has two.
The electric school bus will improve air quality and is good for the children on the bus, the article noted. The school bus can travel 120 miles on a single charge, and the vehicle uses the same plug as a Prius or Volt.
The district’s future plans are to replace a total of nine old school buses with new zero-emission electric school buses.
