SAN MARCOS, Calif. — A North County school district is energized about its new wheels. The San Marcos Unified School District electrified nearly 40 percent of its fleet and added dozens of charging stations on site.
Bus driver Carlos Lopez climbed into his new wheels and when he started his new e-bus you could barely hear or feel it start.
“But you can hear the compressors kick on for the A.C.,” said Lopez.
He’s especially happy that he can now leave the bus on while waiting for the students so it can still cool during high heat days.
“The electric bus is just so smooth and quiet. You can hear everything. I can hear the kids,” said Lopez.
The San Marcos Unified School District says it transports 1,200 students over 15 routes per day.
“I don’t think I’d ever give it up. It’s just kind of a passion thing I love to do,” said Mike Sawyer.
He’s the District’s transportation executive director and says he grew up riding the bus in the SMUSD, he then became a driver and still drives a bus when there is a need.
“Technology’s really cool in the school bus world, it’s not so ancient, like you remember riding the bus to school when we were kids,” said Sawyer.
He helped charge the way to electrify nearly 40 percent of the district’s fleet and add 40, 120 kilowatt charging stations in the first phase as well as a microgrid for back up if they lose power.
“With some of our chargers, it can charge a bus in an hour,” said Sawyer.
San Marcos Unified electrified 33 buses making it one of the county’s largest e-bus fleets in a school district.
School leaders say the district secured more than $16 million in federal and state resources to make it happen.
They also expanded the project to upgrade lighting, plus HVAC and solar systems.
This project also created opportunities for students to get involved.
“We had a number of student interns who actually came and worked with our teams, who really got to have hands on experience, and who got to have the career exposure that can really be a transformative part of someone’s career journey and also their life in years to come,” said Courtney Jenkins, Engie Services U.S., President.
Engie is a global energy company that partnered with the district. School leaders say the initiatives are expected to save the district $40 million.
The World Resources Institute says California is the top leader in e-school bus adoption and is five times larger than the next leading state, which is Illinois.
“They thought very holistically about all their assets,” said Jenkins.
The district that says it is energized to look to the future of transportation.