Education advocacy groups endorse proposed delay in bus


On Board Online • May 18, 2026

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

NYSSBA and other education advocacy groups are calling for the state to add five years to the timeline for zero-emission school buses.

On May 11, the Educational Conference Board (ECB) issued a memo in support of a bill sponsored by state Sen. Christopher Ryan of the Syracuse area and Assembly member Michaelle Solages of Nassau County.

The ECB is a group of seven statewide education organizations representing parents, teachers, other school professionals, building administrators, superintendents and boards of education. [See related story, page 3.]

"The ECB strongly supports a meaningful delay in implementation of the zero-emission bus timeline, such as the one reflected in S.9667 (Ryan) / A.10896 (Solages)," the memo said. It noted that the Ryan/Solages bill "would delay the current zero-emission school bus (ZEB) transition timeline by five years, moving the 100% ZEB purchase/lease requirement from 2027 to 2032, and the 100% ZEB fleet deadline from 2035 to 2040."

The memo's central argument: the current timeline is unrealistic.

"School leaders work tirelessly to improve their students' futures, and therefore understand the urgent need to address climate change," the ECB said. "Unfortunately, with less than 200 ZEBs on the road [out of 50,000 school buses operating in the state] according to the State Education Department, the current mandate timeline is simply unachievable for many districts. Barriers range from workable to insurmountable ."

Currently, the only "zero emission" vehicles available are electric, which cost two to four times more than traditional buses.

"While it was predicted that total cost of ownership parity (TCOP) would be achieved between ZEBs and traditional buses by 2027 (spurring the codification of the 2027 date), ZEB costs under the statewide contract have instead increased - at a rate 33% faster than the considerable inflation over the same period," the memo said.

Among the challenges cited by the ECB:

  • Federal support has dried up. "The $5 billion Clean School Bus Program was prematurely ended. The additional cost to the state in additional transportation aid for bus purchases is upwards of $10 billion."
  • Lack of adequate electrical infrastructure. This is an "unbeatable problem" in some communities. "The Public Service Commission ordered the Joint Utilities of New York to assess the electrical capacity of all the school bus depots across the state, and found that 15% of locations did not have the electrical capacity to support one bus, let alone a fleet."
  • Lack of range. The distance that an electric bus can be expected to travel on a charge "is a frequent concern for many, exacerbated by the state's cold climate."
  • Bus garage capacity. "ZEBs must be stored indoors and five feet apart to maximize range and shorten charging times for mid-day runs." Many districts lack the needed structures.
  • Market delays. "The wait times for both fulfillment and maintenance leave them off the road for an unacceptable number of school days."

The memo concluded: "While this is a worthwhile undertaking for the health of our students and our planet, the reality is that the technology, costs, infrastructure, and deployment simply aren't where they need to be yet in order to uniformly transition to ZEBs. This bill would adjust the clock for these efforts to continue."




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