Biloxi Public Schools to roll out new fleet of electric school buses

Biloxi Public Schools recently announced a new initiative which would introduce the largest fleet of electric school buses in Mississippi.

Funded through an 11 million dollar grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s, Clean Bus Program, Biloxi Public Schools will acquire 29 electronic vehicles, or EV school buses, along with the installation of charging infrastructure which is expected to be built next year.

The new grant will allow BPS to update just under 40% of its bus fleet. The buses being replaced are the oldest in the fleet with an average of 20 years. According to Biloxi Public Schools, they will save annual of 39 cents per mile driven, in which it is estimated that over the fleets operational lifespan of 15 years, will save the district over 6 million dollars in fuel. According to BPS this will be at no cost to Biloxi taxpayers.

For Ben Warren, the Transportation Director for BPS, the estimated savings are just one of many bonuses for the new electric fleet.

“We’ll see the environmental impacts as well. So when that bus pulls up to that bus stop, we’re not going to have the fumes that the kids would be breathing and the bus stop will be a lot quieter. It’ll be safer in that means because the students will be able to hear traffic and other things because the bus will be silent when its sitting there loading students.”

The new fleet of electric buses is expected to be fully operational across Biloxi Public Schools in 2026.