Recommended Total Cost of Ownership Parameters for Electric School Buses: Summary of Methods and Data

Abstract

This Technical Note is a reference guide for those conducting the total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis of diesel and electric school buses. The publication presents a landscape analysis of information related to school bus procurement, performance, and operations, such as purchase costs, maintenance and operating costs, fuel economies, vehicle lifetime, charger and installation costs, and more. The recommended default specifications for key calculation parameters will improve understanding of the economics of school bus electrification.

Adopting electric school buses in the United States: Health and climate benefits

“…Our results indicate that replacing older diesel school buses driven in large metropolitan areas leads to large health benefits—exceeding $200,000 per bus if electric buses replace miles driven by diesel buses of MY 2005 driven in central metropolitan areas—whereas replacing diesel buses of newer MYs or in areas with lower population density leads to much smaller health benefits. An electric school bus costs $156,000 more, on average, than a new diesel school bus in terms of lifetime costs, after accounting for fuel and maintenance savings of electric buses ( 32 ); supplementary materials SI Appendix suggest that this present value is in 2022 dollars ( 30 ), calculated using a 3% discount rate ( 48 ).…”

“…Our results capture only health benefits associated with reduced ambient PM 2.5 , but these benefits are large enough to suggest that replacing many old diesel buses driven in densely populated areas is cost-beneficial. However, due to potentially large variability in school bus costs [e.g., by bus school bus type and size, battery capacity and charging, fuel/electricity costs, among others ( 30 , 32 )] and health benefits, our results should be combined with additional data specific to each school district on cost factors and fleet characteristics to assess where school bus adoption is cost-beneficial and which areas derive the most benefits. A location-specific assessment of costs and benefits would also allow for a comparison between electric school bus adoption and other policies competing for resources in the transportation or other sectors covered by the local budget.…”

“…Air pollution levels are higher near highways ( 28 ) and transportation emissions are also important contributors to racial and ethnic disparities in PM 2.5 exposure: Black and Hispanic Americans face roughly 40 and 30% higher exposure to PM 2.5 from heavy-duty diesel than White Americans, and about twice as much exposure as their consumption causes ( 29 ). At a cost of $300,000 to $400,000 per electric bus ( 30 , 31 ), $5 billion can replace only around 15,000 buses, which amounts to just 3% of the fleet and a small fraction of the roughly 200,000 highly polluting pre-2010 school buses in circulation. Replacing all pre-2010 diesel school buses in the United States would require a $60 billion to $80 billion investment, whereas electrifying the entire U.S. school bus fleet would cost roughly 2.5 times as much.…”

“…Electric buses save on fuel and maintenance costs, but a recent analysis including vehicle, fuel, maintenance, and insurance and fee costs suggests that, on average, the total cost of ownership is about $156,000 higher for electric buses in the absence of any subsidies, relative to purchasing a new diesel bus ( 30 , 32 ). However, costs vary by school bus type and size, by the capacity of the battery required to drive the routes, the type of charging station and charging behavior, and fuel/electricity costs, among other factors ( 30 , 32 ). Additionally, the number of electric bus models and the manufacturing capacity is expanding rapidly ( 33 ), which may reduce costs in the future.…”

“…We focus on chronic exposure to PM 2.5 since its impacts are much larger than those of acute exposure; about 10 times as large even in urban areas in China, where haze episodes can be severe ( 42 ). We report per-mile results, reflecting the value per each mile driven at present time, as well as per-vehicle results, which assume school buses are driven a total of 190,134 miles over the next 13.5 y ( 30 ) and that emissions are uniformly distributed along the 13.5-y period, calculating the present value of impacts that occur in the future.…”