Taylor hits the brakes on electric school bus, says it's not economically feasible

After weighing the options of buying an electric school bus through a federal grant, Taylor Transportation, the company that provides the Wrangell School District with busing, has decided to pull the plug on the purchase.

Citing the “unknowns” about electric vehicle operation and maintenance, John Taylor said the company decided it wouldn’t be economically feasible to purchase an electric bus.

“We’re not doing EV,” he said. “The benefits did not outweigh the costs. We didn’t want to be a government guinea pig. Even though it’s free, it ain’t free.”

The Environmental Protection Agency grant, worth $395,000, was written by Schools Superintendent Bill Burr. The grant had to go through a school district and one of the requirements was that a fossil fuel-powered vehicle that was used the past two years to transport students would have to be destroyed. Wrangell was the only school district in Alaska to win the grant.

Even though Taylor Transportation pumped the brakes, Burr is trying to find out if there’s still a way to go forward with the purchase. There’s the possibility the district could buy a bus with the grant. The grant acceptance deadline is mid-April, and an extension could be granted if the district finds a way to fill the requirements.

However, Burr noted, accepting the grant still would necessitate destruction of a bus, “but we can’t do that locally because we only have one local company that buses students.”

Still, Burr is looking into whatever options may exist, but that depends on the answers he receives from the EPA.

“It may be dead in the water,” he said. “There may be an option I would discuss with the school board, but at this point, I don’t have a path forward.”

Burr said he understood Taylor Transportation’s decision but it was “disappointing that we’re not (moving forward) … but companies have to make decisions as well.”

Taylor pointed out that electric vehicles don’t hold a charge as long in colder climates, and maintenance on an electric vehicle would require a trained mechanic that Taylor Transportation might not have readily available as would larger school districts.

“We’d like to save the planet one bus at a time, but we can’t if it’s going to cost us everything,” he said.