White Plains Students Get First Look at Electric School Bus

Ridgeway Elementary School Principal Tashia Brown with two students about to board the electric school bus.

Students from Ridgeway Elementary School in the White Plains School District had the honor of being the first students in New York State to board an electric school bus on June 19. During an official “unveiling” event, the students got first dibs for a seat on the eLionC bus, one of five all-electric school buses the district will deploy in September for use during the 2018-19 school year.

The five buses are manufactured by The Lion Electric Co. and First Priority GreenFleet and represent the first Type C electric fleet to be used in any school district in the state. National Express, the district’s transportation provider, purchased the buses from Lion Electric, which is based in Quebec, and will pay for the energy costs involved in running them during the school year.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Ricca said the initiative is the latest in the district’s efforts to become one of the greenest school districts in the state and to furthering its position at the forefront of technological advances. “White Plains will be the first school district in the State of New York to have electric school buses rolling out next September, and that is extraordinarily exciting.” said Dr. Ricca.

He was joined inside the bus by White Plains Mayor Tom Roach; Peter Rego, Chief Commercial Officer, The Lion Electric Co.; Raul Moreno-Carreon, White Plains General Manager, National Express; and Alex Cherepakhov, CEO, First Priority Group (GreenFleet), which serves as Lion Electric’s dealer in California, New York and New Jersey.

Dr. Ricca added that from a sustainability standpoint, the district is once again leading the way. “We are making sure that our footprint is going to be reduced, but we are also out in front, just like the city always is, in showing folks that it can be done.” Mayor Roach reiterated Dr. Ricca’s sentiments by extolling the advantages of electric-powered vehicles and the little-to-no maintenance that is required in running them.

Mr. Moreno-Carreon said that the five electric-powered buses will eliminate up to 1,500 tons of greenhouse gases during a school year. He added, “We’d like to see the district’s entire fleet electric.”

“I’m very, very proud as superintendent of schools and I know that our Board of Education is very, very proud as well,” Dr. Ricca said. “We are looking forward to an outstanding partnership with Lion and of course with National Express.