Peak to Peak Charter School launches all-electric school bus fleet
Peak to Peak Charter School has launched an all-electric fleet of school buses in a partnership with Highland Electric Fleets. The charter school in the Boulder Valley School District is taking advantage of SB 193 which allocated $65 million for electric school buses in Colorado.
It's part of a larger plan to transition to cleaner, healthier transportation for Colorado's students, drivers and communities.
"Prior to 2020, Peak to Peak had been using Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) buses for student transportation needs. During the pandemic, the bus driver shortage was difficult for everyone. BVSD had to make difficult decisions about how they managed their staff and resources," said Sam Todd, Executive Director of Operations at Peak to Peak Charter School in a statement.
"Unfortunately, that meant Peak to Peak was no longer able to rent buses for field trips, athletics, and student activities. We needed to find an affordable solution to ensure consistent and reliable transportation. As a small school, we didn't have the ability to undertake a complex infrastructure project on our own. Highland managed the project, remained within our budget, and provided the needed infrastructure as well as the electric buses."
Highland partnered with McCandless Truck Center to provide IC and Collins/Lightning electric buses. They will also manage the electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on the Peak to Peak campus. Highland also assisted in training the school's new bus drivers as well as covering bus and charger maintenance and electricity costs.
