Let’s reconsider electrifying school buses statewide

New York state’s recent mandate to electrify all school buses is a fantasyland, progressive step toward a not-so-green future. Beneath the surface, there are glaring issues that threaten the feasibility of this ambitious initiative. While the intentions seem commendable, the lack of infrastructure, exorbitant costs, and practical challenges in certain regions cast a shadow over the state’s commitment to a cleaner environment.

This historic untested and unproven legislation aims for all new school bus purchases to be zero-emission by 2027, and would require that all buses in operation are electric by 2035. The budget includes next to no funding to help districts implement this transition, dedicating a paltry $500 million of the $20 billion that bus electrification would require.

Whichever side of the aisle you’re on when it comes to clean energy, we can all certainly agree that there must be the means to pay for this social experiment, and a methodology to ensure that the system will actually work — and here lies the problem. The state’s decision to mandate bus electrification without addressing the critical issue of infrastructure is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. The electrical grid, already strained in some areas, will face an unprecedented load with the addition of electric school buses, leading to potential power outages and system failures.

The financial burden of this mandate is another elephant in the room. Electric school buses cost nearly four times as much as conventional buses — roughly $450,000 per vehicle — which would put immense pressure on school districts already grappling with budget constraints. The mandate is an unfunded directive, forcing schools to divert resources from other essential needs, such as classroom supplies, teacher salaries and extracurricular activities.

While electric buses may be a viable option for urban areas with shorter bus routes, the practicality diminishes in rural upstate regions. Some of those areas require buses with a range exceeding 150 miles to shuttle students effectively. The current EV technology falls short, making it clear that a one-size-fits-all approach is impractical. That would leave school districts in remote areas grappling with the dilemma of compromising on buses’ range by eliminating athletics and other programs.

Another challenge arises during the frigid winter months, when battery storage and capacity are significantly diminished. In upstate New York, where temperatures can plunge to extreme lows, the effectiveness of electric buses becomes questionable — actually, it’s not questionable; the technology just doesn’t work. Students in these regions could face delayed or canceled bus service due to the weather’s effect on battery performance. The concerns about the reliability of electric buses in areas with harsh winters are real: They would put our children at risk.

And while electric vehicles are often championed as a cleaner alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles, there is a dark side to their production that is frequently overlooked. The extraction of key materials essential for EV batteries, such as cobalt and lithium, involves intensive mining, leading to environmental degradation. It is widely acknowledged that the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major supplier of cobalt, uses unethical mining practices and child slave labor. The mining industry’s environmental toll, coupled with the exploitation of vulnerable communities, raises ethical questions about the true environmental impact of EVs, highlighting the need for a more holistic assessment of the supply chain.

The safety concerns associated with electric vehicles extend beyond their production. EVs are known to catch fire, and fighting those fires is uniquely challenging. The lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles are extremely difficult to extinguish once ignited, and firefighters often struggle to control such fires. This poses a risk not only to vehicle occupants — our students — but also to first responders, bystanders and the environment.

Perhaps Gov. Kathy Hochul, known for her commitment to renewable energy, could consider attaching one of her beloved wind turbines to each school bus to help power it. While that might sound like a whimsical suggestion, it underscores the lunacy of such legislation, which is being used as a diversion tactic while other real problems abound — problems like crime and the illegal migrant crisis. The governor wants us to waste our energy discussing fairy-tale ideas such as electric buses and windmills, all the while diverting needed education and security funding to illegal immigrants who have never paid a dime into our tax base.

Governor, it’s time to pump the brakes on this unfunded mandate.

Ari Brown represents the 20th Assembly District.