New electric school buses roll out in Orangeburg, elsewhere

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Not long from now, South Carolina drivers will have some greener company on the roads.

More than 160 electric school buses will be in the state soon – coming from nearly $66 million from the federal government.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency and Rep. Jim Clyburn visited Orangeburg on Monday to highlight the investment.

Students at Marshall Elementary School were the first in their district to ride on new electric school buses.

Eight of these buses are now in South Carolina.

For the most part, the buses make for a much quieter ride than their diesel counterparts.

Minus the questions students had – about the new arrivals.

Orangeburg County School District officials aren’t quite sure yet how much money they’ll save through the 20 electric buses that’ll soon be in their fleet.

But district leaders say the benefits stretch beyond savings.

“To have safe, clean, efficient, but also comfortable rides to and from school as those young minds prepare themselves to learn and rest their minds as they ride home,” said Shawn Foster, district superintendent.

Orangeburg County and Barnwell County are among 16 districts across the state that will receive some of the 168 new buses coming to South Carolina.

The EPA says $5 billion will be sent throughout the country for electric buses – with about 60% of that money still to be allocated. The vast majority of the money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed in 2021.

“Mark my words: Zero-emission school buses can and will be the American standard,” said Michael Regan, EPA .

So far, South Carolina’s allotment is third-highest among all states – in part, Clyburn says, because of a concerted effort to focus federal dollars in counties where a large portion of the population has lived in poverty for decades.

“What Regan is trying to do is to make sure that we address needs, not to just give money out of the door,” Clyburn said.

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