The Copiague School District will soon be transporting its students with new electric school buses as part of a state-sponsored incentive program.
Educational Bus Transportation (EBT), a provider of school transportation for some districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties, is partnering with London-based Zenobē on the fleet electrification project that will serve Copiague schools.
The project will start with an initial phase of 10 electric school buses and associated charging infrastructure. The buses will be used to transport the Copiague district’s kindergarten through 12th grade students.
The electrification project is largely funded through the New York School Bus Incentive Program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), with Zenobē also providing funding, according to a company statement. The Environmental Bond Act passed in Nov. 2022 included $500 million to support the transition to zero-emission school buses.
Zenobē will develop and manage the site’s charging infrastructure with a scalable design that will allows EBT, and its managing company The Trans Group, to further expand the electric fleet. EBT provides public school transportation for school districts in Nassau County and western Suffolk County, including Copiague, Massapequa, Amityville, Seaford, Wantagh, Farmingdale, South Huntington, Half Hollow Hills, Bethpage, Hicksville and Western Suffolk BOCES.
“As a long-time provider of transportation services to Long Islanders, we’re excited to continue the process of bringing clean school buses to our students and drivers,” Tim Flood, executive vice president of The Trans Group, said in the statement. “The combination of NYSERDA funding and Zenobē’s experience and knowledge are vital to keep our successful transition to clean rides for our students on track.”
Currently, electric school buses can travel from 100 to 200 miles when fully charged, enough for most of the state’s school buses, which travel an average of 80 miles per day, according to NYSERDA. Additionally, the buses can be charged overnight when electric rates are the lowest.
“NYSERDA is proud to support Educational Bus Transportation and its partner Zenobē to bring electric school buses to Long Island’s Copiague Public Schools,” NYSERDA Director of Clean Transportation Adam Ruder said in the statement. “Together we are ensuring that students and the communities they live in benefit from clean vehicles that reduce pollution and improve air quality.”
By next year, all new school buses sold for use in New York State will be zero-emission, and the state aims to convert its entire school bus fleet to electric school buses by 2035.
Founded in 2017, Zenobē is a global EV fleet and grid-scale battery storage specialist. The company supports over 3,400 electric vehicles and 122 depots worldwide and it’s the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, according to the company.
“We look forward to supporting EBT and The Trans Group and being a part of New York State’s ambition to progress toward cleaner and healthier student transportation options,” Maggie Clancy, executive vice president for Zenobē, said in the statement. “We see our role as providing more than just technical services and support. We’re delivering confidence and peace-of-mind through battery performance guarantees, cost-efficient charge management services, and partnership to make this fleet both operationally reliable and financially sustainable.”
