In California’s vast northern rural school districts, with their mountain passes and long, snowy winters, the typical electric bus’ range is not nearly enough. West Valley is one of Lassen High’s nearest athletic opponents. One of the farthest, Yreka High, is 169 miles away.
Yet California is pushing schools to get rid of their air-polluting diesel buses and swap them for battery-powered ones.
In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring all newly purchased or leased school buses in California to be zero-emission starting in 2035. Rural school districts can have up to 10 additional years to fulfill the requirement, if they can prove the vehicles are impractical for their routes and terrain.
