Bill Proposes Changing Maine’s 3,000 School Buses to All Electric
The bill will be introduced this winter and will ask the Department of Education to replace all of Maine's 3,000 school buses to all electric by the year 2040.
According to the KJ, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases in Maine. School buses alone driver 30 million miles a year and burn up to 5 million gallons each year in our state. I know what you're thinking- How are we supposed to roll coal in an electric bus? The short answer- you can't. This is where we have to balance environmental friendliness for our love of Cummins motors. And to be quite frank, it's hard. Is the world REALLY going to end in 12 years like the 'experts' predict. Of course not.
Either way you look at it, despite your political stance, are electric motors better for the air we breathe? Of course. I just worry about CMP screwing up the bills on the charging stations for these babies.. We could go broke just trying to get to school!
Oh, if you're wondering about cost, get ready to pony up those tax dollars. A regular diesel-powered school bus will run ya about $150,000 where an all electric bus is around $300,000 or so.
Admittedly, there's a ton of stuff in the original article about how these puppies can be used to supplement power in our communities etc, and for that, I would urge you to take a look at the full breakdown done by The Kennebec Journal.