Opinion: Supporting Electric School Buses is the Right Thing to Do — and Fiscally Conservative

In an opinion piece, former chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele calls for support of electrifying school bus fleets despite “claims by some in Congress that federal government support for electric school buses is a ploy to help the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”

According to Steele, “Unsubstantiated claims about e-buses somehow helping the CCP distract from the clear advantages of modernizing our school bus infrastructure and only serve as political theater for some lawmakers to energize a certain segment of their base.”

Steele notes that his home state of Maryland is one of the nation’s leaders in buying electric school buses, with Montgomery County already operating a fleet of over 220 electric school buses.

Steele highlights the benefits of electrifying school fleets: improved health for students, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and economic advantages. “One study found that electric buses could save between $73,000 and $173,000 per unit over their lifetimes. A Department of Energy study similarly projected hundreds of thousands of dollars’ in savings for a city that invested in four electric buses and four charging stations.”

For Steele, the health and environmental benefits are obvious and unimpeachable, while the up-front costs are offset by future savings. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this one will yield us lower costs, cleaner communities and healthier kids.”