Heavier Electric School Buses Raise Concerns for Local Road Maintenance
ALBANY — As New York prepares to implement stricter emissions reduction rules, concerns are rising over the impact of electric school buses on local road maintenance. The state adopted California's Advanced Clean Trucks rules in December 2021, requiring an increasing share of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to reach zero emissions, with regulations set to take effect in January 2025.
One significant challenge comes from the weight of electric school buses compared to diesel-powered counterparts. According to the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways (NYSATSOTH), a diesel bus typically weighs about 10 tons per axle, while an electric bus can carry around 14 tons on the front axle and 25 tons on the rear axle. This increase in weight could lead to a 20% reduction in pavement lifespan due to subgrade deterioration, ultimately raising the cost of road reconstruction from approximately $20,000-$50,000 per mile to as much as $550,000 per mile.
Additionally, the expected life of a road surface drops from 10 years to just 8 when subjected to the heavier electric buses. These changes come amid New York’s legislative mandate that all new school bus purchases be electric by 2027. NYSATSOTH is working with the Department of Environmental Conservation to seek a two-year reprieve from requiring electric snowplows, citing a lack of available vehicles that can match the performance of current diesel-powered models.
The town of Clarence in Erie County illustrates the potential financial strain, projecting that its pavement maintenance costs could increase twelve-fold—from $665,000 to $8.5 million annually—due to the transition to electric school buses. To better understand the long-term impact, the association has enlisted the help of engineers from the Cornell Local Roads Program to assess the effect of heavier electric buses on locally owned roads.
Local highway departments are also grappling with the cost of upgrading maintenance facilities to accommodate electric vehicles, with some estimates reaching upwards of $320,000 for vehicles with the necessary gross weight capacity. NYSATSOTH members are advocating for state funding to help offset these new and unexpected expenses.
With the clock ticking toward the 2027 deadline for electric school buses, towns across New York are left weighing the cost of going green against the financial strain of maintaining the roads that will carry them.