WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – A new bill could push back New York’s electric school bus mandate, which would have taken effect next year.
The bill, led by Central New York State Senator Chris Ryan, would give schools more time to transition to electric buses. Current state law requires schools across the state to start transitioning to electric buses by next year and have exclusively electric buses by 2035.
Ryan’s bill would push the electric requirement back another five years.
“The timing was such that it just was something that we just said we have to put a pause on this. We’re not ready for this,” said Ryan, D-50th District.
North Country schools seek relief
Jefferson-Lewis BOCES Superintendent Chris Difulvio said the new timeline is a step forward.
“I think that the new timeline proposed is a step forward towards common-sense legislation for school districts,” Difulvio said.
Ryan said the bill came from conversations with school districts.
“I guess the intent of the law was a result of many conversations, many, many conversations that we’ve had in our district with our school districts. Hearing from, not just from school superintendents, school boards, transportation people who actually drive the buses, work on the buses,” Ryan said.
The delay does not address the main problem schools are having: the expensive price tag on the buses and charging them, along with the lack of reliability in rural areas like the North Country.
Difulvio said he wishes the mandate itself were gone.
“You’ll hear from all of the school districts in the North Country, we all care about the environment. If you want to know what you should do for the environment, you should come visit the North Country, because we’re blanketed with solar fields, we’re blanketed with windmills, and so I think it’s tough for us to hear that the solution to our environmental issues is for us to run these long runs with EV buses,” Difulvio said.
Ryan said he has heard from the Senate and Assembly that there is a good chance his bill will be passed alongside this year’s state budget.
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