Clean School Bus Case Studies
This page contains case studies and other resources that can be helpful in the implementation of clean school bus projects across the country with the goals of educating the public and encouraging more schools to transition to clean school buses. If you have any questions or feedback about these resources, email cleanschoolbus@epa.gov with “CSB Case Studies” in the subject line.
On this Page:
Electric School Buses
- Vermont Electric School and Transit Bus Pilot Program Report (pdf) (7.1 MB, June 2023) – Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
- This report shares findings from three electric school bus projects in Vermont and identifies best practices for project implementation. The projects used Model Year 2021 buses and generally found that it was feasible to operate electric school and transit buses in VT even in cold weather and varied terrain. Although bus performance varied by manufacturer, particularly in colder weather, and charging equipment performance remained a persistent issue for all sites year-round; note however, that the study was conducted with early model year electric buses and charging equipment, which may not fully reflect of currently available technologies. All project partners realized fuel cost savings and greater efficiency over their diesel counterparts. Refer to pages 34-36 of the report for additional details on key findings from this pilot program.
- Massachusetts electric school bus delivered power back to grid for 50+ hours over the summer (October 2021) – Green Car Congress
- An article on an electric school bus that successfully delivered power back to the electricity grid using vehicle-to-grid technology, demonstrating how electric school buses can support the electric grid.
- A Snowy Colorado Mountain Towns' Electric Bus Experience (pdf) (1.7 MB, May 2023) – Accelera
- A case study that examines how electric buses perform in snowy conditions and on rough routes in a cold, mountainous community.
- Guide to School Bus Electrification (pdf) (2.4 MB, January 2022) – Oregon Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Quality, and Zero Emission Vehicle Interagency Working Group
- An overview of Oregon’s transition to electric school buses that is meant to provide school districts with information and recommendations for vehicle electrification that accompanies a quantitative tool to analyze different fuel types for school buses.
Propane and Compressed Natural Gas School Buses
- Case Study: Propane School Bus Fleet (pdf) (353 KB, April 2021) – Metropolitan Energy Center and the Kansas City Regional Clean Cities Coalition
- An overview of the Grain Valley School District’s journey to choose to add propane buses to their fleet and how implementation is going, including cost savings.
- Natural Gas School Buses Reward Utah District with Fuel Savings, Breath of Cleaner Air (March 2021) – U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center
- An overview of the Jordan School District’s fleet which began integrating compressed natural gas (CNG) buses 15 years ago, a trend that has grown to make the district the largest fleet of CNG buses in the state.