Governor Jared Polis signed the Air Quality Improvement Investments bill into law June 2, establishing Colorado’s own electric bus program. Mirabito mentioned that the EPA program is not the only one available. Applications for the program are due Aug. While the Clean School Bus program allocates funding to help build charging stations, Reeves said he thinks Mountain Parks Electric would help cover any remaining charging station costs. “Last I heard, they were like $375,000, just for the bus.” “Those things are not cheap,” Mirabito said. Mirabito supported the idea of electric buses, saying the district will have to get them eventually, so they might as well do it while the EPA will help pay for them. The program offers rebates to replace existing school buses with electric ones. He suggested a way to make buying such an expensive bus “more acceptable” though - applying for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program. Superintendent Frank Reeves, who retires at the end of June, said he thought bus prices would not go down significantly any time soon. She said transit-style buses with front-end engines can work as activities buses for the district, but rear-end engine buses, like the one Mirabito asked for, provide more horsepower, are quieter and have more space for passengers and equipment. This year’s bus represents the high-end of the options Mirabito described. “I don’t think there’s any way around the price if we want to get a new bus.” “It’s just a sign of the times,” Mirabito said. The other factor increasing the cost feels familiar to most: inflation. Buses with low horsepower would not work. The purpose of the bus - to take students to activities - means the bus needs to be able to handle long distances and steep climbs. Mirabito said she realizes the bus costs a lot of money, but there were a few reasons for the high price tag. Lisa Mirabito, the district’s transportation director, spoke to the board about buying a new activity bus for a whopping $193,860. East Grand and West Grand school districts accepted a proposal from Mountain Parks Electric that could have provided their first electric buses that same year.Īt East Grand School District’s board meeting June 21, buses became a complicated issue. He has authored a couple of books called “Feel Free to Quote Me” and “F***ing History.A demo Proterra electric bus before its first Yellow Route of the Free Ride bus system on March 22, 2018, in Breckenridge.
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