Electric School Buses

On Wednesday, March 13, 2024, South Whidbey School District proudly unveiled the school’s first electric school bus. The event allowed community members to take a ride around the Langley area and get a feel for the new bus. the bus was awarded to them through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program Rebate. The bus is now used as the Langley-Cougar bus and has been on route for over two weeks. A similar program has also granted the school district a second electric bus, but it has yet to arrive. An ongoing goal of the school has been to reduce their impact on the environment by adopting these zero-emission buses, the school will be able to take some huge steps in this direction and make for healthier conditions for the students.

In 2022, USL members were able to go to an event at Lumen Field Stadium where Vice President Kamala Harris presented the bus, and she was introduced by USL member Audrey Gmerek. USL also pushed for Island Transit to commit to a zero-emission fleet by 2035 in 2021-2022, which was an amazing success. USL called onto the community to attend Island Transit board meetings and make public comments, as well as comment through surveys to push for them to make this commitment. Island County canceled their orders for fossil fueled buses while committed to having a 100% zero emission fleet by 2035. Ths is a remarkable success, and demonstrates the influence of student voices with the support of the community.