M.E.E.P Overview: The Mid-Atlantic Electric School Bus Experience Project (M.E.E.P) provides schools with an introduction to electric school bus technology. Through working with Clean Cities Coalitions, and other partners, M.E.E.P aims to provide free electric school buses for 6–8-week demos in select districts in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington DC over the next two years.
M.E.E.P is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The project allows school districts to gain experience with electric school buses from multiple manufacturers, evaluate vehicle performance (including comparison to baseline conventional fuel buses), and provide valuable information about incorporating electric school bus technologies into their fleets.
What Are the Benfits of Electric School Busses
Electric school buses allow school districts to:
• Reduce Operating Costs
• Achieve Sustainability Goals
• Improve Local Air Quality
• Protect the Health of Children
There are close to a half million school buses on the road today. The vast majority of these are diesel buses that spew toxic tailpipe emissions which harm the millions of children riding them and the communities in which they operate. Electric school buses offer a solution—these clean, zero tailpipe emission vehicles are a tool for improving environmental conditions, public health, and more. Additionally, they are now being offered by every major North American school bus manufacturer and orders and deployments are increasing around the country.
How Could this Technological Advancement Showcase do for your School District
There are opportunities for demonstrations where various faculty members and students to experience electric school buses firsthand on your existing routes, without any cost or long-term commitment.
These experiences will help:
- Showcase Benefits
- Familiarize Staff with Operations
- Build Local Support
- Provide Experience for Future Funding Opportunities
By working with this program in participate within these demonstrations, it will provide a foundation for future generation in creating a more ecological environment concerned with effects that we are directly creating each day. This can be a light for surrounding individuals in teaching and showing the future generation first hand not only the past but what the future holds as well due to our actions that we decide to create.
Program Details
The M.E.E.P Team is seeking schools, school districts, and/or school transportation contractors interested in deploying one or more electric school buses into their regular transportation services for a 6–8-week demonstration in the multi-state project region.
(School Partners are also eligible to receive a free Level 2 charging station for charging the bus during the demonstration project and to keep after the conclusion of each demonstration.)
The Electric School Bus Initiative serves as a one-stop-shop for electric school bus information, resources, datasets, and more from the World Resources Institute. Check out their website for resources including:
- Step-by-Step Guide for School Bus Electrification
- All About” Series Explaining All Things Electric School Bus
- Community Spotlights – Hear How Other School Districts Have Transitioned!
- How to Center Equity in the Transition to Electric School Buses
The M.E.E.P Team will support School Partners before, during, and after the demonstration period, helping to facilitate the process and providing technical assistance, including staff training to support operations and data collection.
We are now accepting applications for the upcoming school years on a rolling basis, and plan to select at least one school fleet per state/region. Strong interest is expected and spots are limited, so interested fleets should apply as soon as possible.
Applicant Information
Interested candidates should respond to the following questions in the M.E.E.P Short-Term Demonstration RFQ application. This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is intended to determine basic eligibility and level of commitment in order to select School Partners. Recognizing that this technology will be new to many potential applicants, Clean Cities coordinators are available to support you through this process.
For more details and application information, please reach out to your state/region’s Clean Cities coordinator:
| State/Region | Clean Cities Coalition | Coordinator | Contact Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia and its MD & VA suburbs |
Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition |
Antoine Thompson | antoinethompson@ 202.671.580 |
| Maryland | Maryland Clean Cities |
Amanda Hinh | amanda.hinh@maryland.gove 443.591.5072 |
| Virginia | Virginia Clean Cities |
Sarah Stalcup-Jones |
sstalcupjones@vacleancities.org 540.212.4143 |
| Pennsylvania | Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation |
Tony Bandiero |
tfbandiero@ep-act.org 215.990.8200 |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition |
Chuck Feinberg |
cfeinberg@gbdtoday.com 973.886.1655 |
Training and Education
Planning for Clean Pupil Transportation Webinar:
M.E.E.P hosted an informational webinar on what to consider when preparing for electric school buses. With an influx of funding opportunities for electric school buses, it is our goal to make sure that folks are up to speed as they begin to consider electrifying their school bus fleets.
Driving & Environmental Movement
Virginia Clean Cities has created a few videos about electric school bus charging basics, Instrument Clusters and Environmental effects within the Electric School Bus Training Connections Series!
In this video, we walk you through the process of charging a Jouley electric bus with the Prottera 60 kW charging station.
In this video, we review the instrument cluster on a Joeuly electric school bus and highlight some of the differences between instrument clusters on diesel and electric school buses.
In this video, we share some best driving practices that drivers can use to optimize an electric school bus’s range
In this video, we provide a few helpful tips for operating electric school buses in cold weather.
Cost
These technical assistance video’s below will provide utilities cost and key challenges that may present itself while integrating electric vehicles within a school district. The following links will allow more information to be presented.
Partners
