Queen City School Buses Are Going Electric

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools begins school bus electrification

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) announced today it is taking its first steps towards school bus electrification. The initial deployment will include three school buses and three chargers. With the support of funding from Phase II of the North Carolina Volkswagen Settlement—a $68 million fund for projects that reduce NOx emissions and improve air quality—the district will deploy its three new electric buses to support some of the transportation needs of the 105,000 students it transports each day on 836 buses that are in the fleet's daily rotation. The total fleet has 1,061 buses. The project is being managed in collaboration with Electrification-as-a-Service (EaaS) provider Highland Electric Fleets, who assisted with the grant application and will also provide charging infrastructure implementation.

"We are extremely excited to join the ranks of school transportation systems who are embracing new technology for their fleets," said Brian Schultz, Chief Operations Officer for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. "The buses will also reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses."

CMS is taking a key step forward as a national leader in providing clean transportation to its students as the district is home to North Carolina's largest school bus fleet and is the 10th largest school bus fleet in the U.S. When the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) announced the Phase II awardees, it provided a total of 161 funded school bus replacements including 43 electric buses. The 43 electric buses will reduce more than 126 tons of NOx emissions over their lifetimes.

"North Carolina is becoming a leader in the energy transition and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' commitment to take the first steps towards electrifying their school bus fleet helps to drive the state's clean energy goals further," said Matt Stanberry, Vice President of Market Development at Highland. "We look forward to this partnership to help provide clean, affordable, and reliable transportation to students and the community."

About Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the 17th largest school district in the nation and the second largest in North Carolina. Under the leadership of Superintendent Crystal Hill, Ed.D., the district provides academic instruction and support to more than 141,000 students across Mecklenburg County.

Our vision is to create an innovative, inclusive, student-centered environment that supports the development of independent learners. With a focus on ensuring all students reach their full potential, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leads the community in educational excellence, inspiring intellectual curiosity, creativity and achievement.

About Highland Electric Fleets
Highland Electric Fleets is the leading provider of electrification-as-a-service for school districts, governments, and fleet operators in North America. Founded in 2019, Highland offers a unique suite of products that make it simple and affordable to upgrade to electric fleets today. Active in 30 states and Canada, Highland is responsible for the first use of electric school buses in a commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program and the largest electric school bus project in the United States to date. To learn more, visit https://highlandfleets.com.

Media Contacts
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Susan Vernon-Devlin
Executive Director, Communications
980-343-0954 (office)
980-266-1518 (cell)
[email protected] 

DKC News for Highland
[email protected] 

SOURCE Highland Electric Fleets