Concerns persist regarding the feasibility of meeting the deadline
ALBANY — Assemblyman Scott Bendett (R,C-Sand Lake) joined colleagues at a press conference on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to advocate for legislation that would grant school districts the ability to apply for waivers from New York’s impending zero-emission school bus mandate.
The mandate, which requires all school buses to be zero-emission by July 1, 2027, has sparked debate over feasibility and cost concerns, particularly in rural and underserved districts.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s electric school bus mandate requires all new school buses purchased in the state to be zero-emission by 2027, with a full transition to electric buses by 2035. The mandate is intended to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change and negatively impact student health.
To support this transition, the state has included funding, transition resources, and priority assistance for specific districts. Additionally, the federal government and the Environmental Protection Agency provide funding to help ease the financial burden on school districts.
Bendett, however, said there is a need for flexibility in implementing sustainability policies, arguing that the state’s diverse school districts face unique challenges that a blanket mandate does not adequately address.
“New York’s school districts are as diverse as the state itself,” Bendett said. “This one-size-fits-all mandate does not account for the real-world obstacles faced by rural and underserved districts.”
While supportive of sustainability efforts, the Sand Lake Republican pointed to economic and logistical challenges associated with the transition. The cost of an electric school bus, which can be two to four times that of a traditional internal combustion engine bus, poses a significant financial burden on districts.
Estimates suggest the total cost of the mandate, excluding necessary infrastructure and facility upgrades, could range between $8 billion and $15.25 billion.
New York State has allocated $500 million through the New York School Bus Incentive Program to help school districts acquire electric buses and install necessary charging infrastructure. However, critics argue that these funds fall short of addressing the full scope of financial and logistical challenges, particularly for rural districts facing limited charging station availability and concerns over battery performance in cold weather.
A report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority highlights the initiative’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality for the state’s 1.5 million student bus riders.
However, concerns persist regarding the feasibility of meeting the mandate’s deadlines.
In response to these concerns, some lawmakers have proposed delaying the mandate’s implementation. A bill introduced by Senator George Borrello seeks to replace the 2027 mandate with a state-funded pilot program, allowing schools to test electric buses’ performance across various settings before full-scale adoption.
“These costs, combined with all the other unknowns of this mandate, is inevitably going to be a burden placed on the shoulders of those who never asked for it in the first place,” Bendett said. “We champion democracy but imposing a statewide mandate on communities that oppose it is far from it.”
Bendett and his colleagues are urging the governor to pause the mandate and consider alternative approaches that provide school districts with more flexibility in meeting sustainability goals while ensuring reliable and cost-effective student transportation.