"Todd Watkins had no idea he’d become famous because of a school bus transaction."

Todd Watkins had no idea he’d become famous because of a school bus transaction.

Watkins made headlines as the Director of Transportation for Montgomery Public Schools in Maryland when he decided to replace his district’s diesel school buses with cleaner, electric ones. Unbeknownst to him, the contract he signed with Highland Electric Transportation in February to lease 326 vehicles for four years and eventually replace the whole 1,422 vehicle fleet turned out to be the single largest purchase of electric school buses in the United States...

...Watkins’ district reached a budget-neutral agreement thanks to a fixed-cost finance approach in which the community pays an average of $43,000 per bus each year for the equipment’s 12-year lifespan rather than paying the whole cost upfront. On the other hand, Highland Electric pays all additional costs, from energy to maintenance, and reaps the advantages of any government incentives and decreased fuel costs associated with electrification. Watkins hopes to spread the news about this strategy to other schools or parties that are interested...

https://mysteriousofscience.com/new-the-maryland-school-system-converted-to-electric-buses/