MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — The push to bring more electric vehicles to Florida is impacting local school districts. 

The state's Department of Environmental Protection is partnering with several counties to purchase electric buses.

What You Need To Know

  • Manatee County Schools on March 18 began driving their four electric buses

  • Two of the buses have a range of 130 miles with two batteries, and the other two have a 200-mile range with three batteries

  • Jamie Warrington says the district paid about $385,000 per bus, with 70% of the cost covered by the grant. The standard diesel school bus currently costs about $155,000, and new electric buses have gone up this year to about $450,000 each, he said

One of the drivers is Susie DuDeVoire, has been a bus driver for Manatee County Schools for 23 years.

“I do it for the kids. They need somebody every day to listen to them, to be nice to them,” she said.

Over the years, she's experienced many changes that now include an electric bus.

“Very different. It's quiet. See, let me turn off the AC for you. I can hear them buckle their seatbelt," she said.

DuDeVoire is driving one of the four electric buses the Manatee County School District purchased with grant money from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The Director of Transportation for Manatee Schools, Jamie Warrington, says the grant covered 70 percent of the cost. He says the district actually paid about $385,000 per bus, with 70% of the cost covered by the grant.

The standard diesel school bus currently costs about $155,000, and new electric buses have gone up this year to about $450,000 each, he said.

“The school district has always done what we can to try to be more green to combat the emissions issues the country is experiencing,” Warrington.

When DuDeVoire heard the news, she said she was happy about the new addition.

“I was excited, a little excited, something new,” DuDeVoire said.

She's been driving her bus since March 18 and already has some favorite additions.

“I love this braking system. It brakes when I take the foot off the gas and puts energy onto the battery,” she said.

The school district hopes these buses help the environment and save money.

“We are collecting the data,” said Warrington.

He says it will take three to four months of collecting data before he can determine if the new buses are more cost-effective.

“There are electrical costs associated with it. We aren’t exactly sure how that’s going to play out. FP&L has been working with us. There will be a dashboard to check on the progress and see how much electricity it's costing to fully charge that bus after routes, as well as overnight,” he said.

He says two of the buses have a range of 130 miles with two batteries, and the other two have a 200-mile range with three batteries. Each bus driver can only stick to their daily school pick-up and drop-off routes that were similar to when the drivers would travel in their gas buses. He says this way it will have consistent data every day.

“The goal is always to keep the money in the classroom where it belongs with the students, so I'm really hopeful and excited that when we are able to get to the point of the comparison, that the data will speak for itself,” he explained.

After her morning and afternoon routes, DuDeVoire charges the bus. Her bus has three batteries and a 200-mile range. It takes four to six hours to fully charge.

This environmentally-friendly bus might change the future of the district – but for DuDeVoire, the goal is the same.

“To get kids safely to and from school,” she said.

If the data shows it's saving the district money, Warrington said he hopes to add more to the fleet.