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Student Transportation: First Student brings electric buses to Billings schools
First Student is the largest student transportation company in North America, transporting 2.7 million children to school every morning and almost the same number back home at the end of the day. Some students also take the buses to band practice, soccer tournaments and other activities.
About four years ago, First Student made the decision to add electric school buses to its fleet, driven by its commitment to safety and creating a zero-emission environment for students and communities. Recently, First Student began using electric school buses in Billings, Montana.
With the support of the Billings School District, First Student secured funding through a grant opportunity issued by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality as part of the Volkswagen mitigation trust settlement, a global settlement due to Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal. States received prorated percentages of the settlement and had a number of options for what they could do with that funding.
“One of those was purchasing clean school buses for operations in their state,” said Kevin Matthews, Head of Electrification at First Student.
Montana received funding from this settlement and chose to use some of it to purchase electric school buses.
“On top of that, our good friends at NorthWestern Energy, after we won the dollars, we went to you all and explained what was going on and you assisted us on the charging infrastructure,” he said.
Kevin emphasized that the support from NorthWestern Energy was crucial to the success of the project.
“Without that support, this project would’ve been dead in the water,” Kevin said.
First Student operates 108 school buses in Billings, eight of which are electric, and will add more electric buses over the next several years.
“I give full credit to NorthWestern Energy by saying let’s not just think about how we’re going to do these eight; let’s do installation now that we don’t have to undo once we’re starting to bring more buses in. And that’s really led to a solid program,” Kevin said.
The project in Billings was completed on time and within budget. Now, First Student is applying for additional funds at the federal level.
“Because of the work we’ve done right now, that’s really helping us move forward and bring more electric buses to Billings,” he said.
First Student began testing the buses in mid-December after all eight units were delivered. The company learned valuable lessons from its experience in Quebec, where First Student had to deal with extremely cold weather, showing that the buses in Billings would meet the operational needs in cold climates.
The move to Billings also provides an opportunity for First Student to learn more about operating in cold weather and dealing with longer routes and topography with hills and elevation gain.
The buses are scheduled to start running in January 2024.
As First Student embraces the switch to electric buses, its primary commitment remains the same.
“As excited as we are about electricity and going electric, our primary job is to safely and reliably take children to and from school every day,” Kevin said. “Nothing else supersedes that. Nothing.”
Before First Student deploys an electric school bus, it thoroughly evaluates whether the bus can operate within the parameters required. This evaluation includes assessing 27 factors, such as distance, route length, terrain and weather conditions.
“We don’t look at the average low temperature,” Kevin said. “We look at the absolute coldest day that Billings is likely to face,” ensuring the buses can operate even in extreme conditions.
All 27 factors must turn green for the project to proceed. If any of these factors turn red, the project will not move forward.
Kevin emphasized that people often overlook the significance of the school bus industry. He compared it to the airline industry, stating that on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the airline industry set a record by transporting 3 million people.
“We do 2.7 million every day as a single company,” Kevin said. “Making it the largest people-moving company in North America.”
In addition to providing transportation services, First Student offers consulting services to school districts interested in transitioning to electric buses.
“If there is another school district that wants to go electric and wants to work with an entity that knows what they’re doing, they can bring First Consulting in and we’ll consult with them on the process and provide guidance,” Kevin said.
