Project Traits
State: Florida
Congressional District: FL18
Organization Type: School
Partner Organization(s) Type: Commercial
Energy Sector: Transportation,
Energy Subsector: EVs,
Project Start Year: Unknown
Project Launch Year: 2025
Government Support Received: Federal Grant [EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program] for $5,000,000
Outcomes & Impacts
Private Investment: Unknown
Jobs Announced or Created: Unknown
People Served: Unknown
Projected Economic Impact: Unknown
Glades County School District (GCSD) has introduced 13 industry-leading electric school buses to its fleet for the 2024-2025 school year. The new electric school buses will replace more than half of the district's outdated diesel buses—some of which have been in operation for more than 25 years.
Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, supplied the 13 Type C Vision electric-powered school buses to GCSD. The company’s electric school buses generate no emissions and can carry approximately 77 students up to 120 miles on a single charge.
GCSD partnered with Highland Electric Fleets, the leading provider of Electrification-as-a-Service (EaaS) for school bus fleets in North America, as its electrification partner to support its fleet modernization and infrastructure upgrades. With lower fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs, the district anticipates substantial savings in its transportation budget. School districts have reported paying a mere 19 cents per mile in energy costs for electric buses compared to fuel costs of up to 79 cents per mile for their diesel buses.