The Boulder Valley School District received an all-electric school bus Wednesday, becoming the first district in Colorado to add an electric bus to its fleet.

The Blue Bird Vision bus is an environmentally sustainable method, replacing a 30-year-old diesel bus that was scrapped last year. It has a 71-passenger capacity, 120-mile travel range and 160-kilowatt-hour battery package.

“We are thrilled about the arrival of the electric bus and look forward to putting it through the paces as a showcase of cleaner, cheaper and healthier student transportation,” said Landon Hilliard with BVSD.

Douglas County middle, high schoolers to return to full in-person learning

The bus has zero tailpipe emissions, contributing to BVSD’s climate and clean air goals. Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado and the second leading source of harmful ozone pollution.

Hilliard said the school district has been trying to secure an all-electric bus for a while.

The district’s 2014 bond program funded and constructed the new Boulder Transportation Center in 2019, equipped with the capacity to charge passenger vehicles and electric school buses.

The bond program also installed 55 vehicle charging stations with two ports each at 50 locations across the district, with support from the Regional Air Quality Council.

Reports of shots fired at Centaurus High School a false alarm

BVSD already has three plug-in passenger electric vehicles used by staff to travel between schools, two of which were purchased with assistance from the Regional Air Quality Council, Colorado Energy Office and the city of Boulder.

The purchase of the bus was funded by the ALT Fuels Colorado program of the Regional Air Quality Council.

BVSD’s electric vehicles are part of Boulder’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The city, Via Mobility and the University of Colorado Boulder will also release zero-emission transit vehicles in the coming months.

The bus will have a two-week acceptance period at the BVSD Transportation Center for final preparations and staff training. Afterward, it will be scheduled for a regular rotation of routes.