ENCINITAS — The San Dieguito Union High School District has added its first four electric buses to its transportation fleet, with nine more electric buses coming online by the end of the year.
Officials celebrated the arrival of the buses with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at the district’s transportation yard in Encinitas. The buses, built in Lancaster by electric transit company RIDE, utilize lithium iron phosphate batteries.
The district’s fleet currently contains 54 diesel vehicles. For each new electric bus, one diesel bus will be retired and taken out of service.
“By the end of this summer, we expect to be at nearly 25% electric, and by 2029, nearly 40% of our fleet will be EV,” said Antonio Perez, San Dieguito Union High School District director of transportation. “This is an exciting step forward for our district, and we are proud to be moving forward in this direction.”
District leaders said the buses were obtained at very low cost thanks to several grants, including the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, the state Zero Emission School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program, and California’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project.
“These are very complex grants that take a long time,” said district Superintendent of Business Services Stephen Dickinson.
The majority of the district’s bus routes serve special education students, with some general education routes as well. Outside of transportation to and from school, the buses are heavily used for athletics transportation and school field trips, Perez said.
Elected officials in the school district said the new buses reflect San Dieguito’s commitment to thoughtful investment of district resources.
“I’m so pleased to be with you here today as we receive our first four electric buses in the district,” said Trustee Jane Lea Smith. “These buses are the result of collaboration and careful consideration of both immediate and long-term needs.”
