School Transport Goes Electric
Since 2010, EV Connect’s path to expand and provide smart electric vehicle charging infrastructure has led them to branch out into numerous industries and sectors. One of EV Connect’s latest collaborations is with the Sunnyvale School District (SSD) in northern California.
This project in Silicon Valley is proving superb results not only by improving the air quality for residents, educators, and children from preschool to 8th grade but in saving the school district more than $1.4 million. As district administrators worked to address aging school buses and facilities remodel, it was the logical time to upgrade the bus depot. The firm performing the work for SSD in-turn, reached out to EV Connect to help navigate the transformation to an all-electric school transportation infrastructure. EV Connect stepped into the project on an accelerated timeline and assisted in making the district’s fleet electrification process as smart, simple, seamless, and comprehensive as possible.
About
Located in California’s Silicon Valley, the Sunnyvale School District is a public school district located in Sunnyvale. The district comprises ten schools: eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and a comprehensive preschool program. The district includes 992 highly qualified educators, administrators, and support staff who serve approximately 6,000 students.
The Challenge
When Sunnyvale’s school buses began to show the typical signs of aging the repair costs began to exceed the cost of purchasing new vehicles. District administrators started to brainstorm solutions to fund new buses that would make the thousands of student rides annually possible for the students that depend on them for transportation to and from school.
The idea to go all-electric was raised and eventually adopted. Finances, timelines, budgets, and personnel were taken into account as administrators, and school leaders began to plan for electrifying the district’s transportation resources. New factors such as carbon emissions, a forward-thinking mindset, clean air, and the environment were central to the process, but questions remained. Was going all-electric an option for a smaller school district like Sunnyvale? Would it be affordable? How much of a change would it present to make the shift from being petroleum-reliant to charging on the grid? What training would drivers and maintenance staff need to undergo to operate, maintain, and manage their new busses and the related data systems, electric charging stations, and other new equipment?
Once Sunnyvale’s leadership decided to go electric, the district operations team began the process of identifying the right vendors and manufacturers to make charging come together. The administration decided that they would rely on external specialists to accelerate through the stages of installation, deployment, management, and driver support.
The Solution
After finalizing the decision to transition its fleet to all-electric, SSD staff applied for and secured additional funding through EV grant programs, which helped offset a considerable portion of the upfront costs. Through the funding of three different rebate programs, including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) program and a Pacific Gas & Electric grant, SSD built infrastructure and purchased four electric buses for the price of one. Through its collaboration with EV Connect, Sunnyvale was able to choose the charging hardware that best suited the district’s needs, allowing them the freedom to scale as needed and have the option to change hardware in the future, if needed. EV Connect ensured that flexible, scalable, and compliant hardware and software were installed. With EV Connect providing the dashboard setup, Sunnyvale now operates its electric vehicle charging network through a single control screen. Ongoing services for use-case optimization and live support are provided by EV Connect on a 24/7/365 basis.
The Sunnyvale School District now operates:
Four electric school buses
Three Nissan Leafs (for IT staff, using programmed key fobs for access)
Eight Level-2 electric vehicle charging ports (four 70-amp ports and two dual ports)
One of the charging stations is available for students, staff, and the public
The Results
Sunnyvale School District’s decision to take the all-electric approach is one example of how public sector organizations are changing the trajectory of the quality of living across their communities for decades to come. Since the deployment in September 2020, SSD personnel have driven more than 3,532,637 electric bus and car miles. The electrification of the SSD fleet has become a point of pride for district decision-makers, teachers and students, and local stakeholders and residents. The district’s decision to build out this important infrastructure positions SSD as an excellent example for school districts across the country. The shift to an all-electric future is no longer in the realm of futurism, but the tools and resources are ready and available today.