Accelerating Clean Transportation (ACT) School Bus: Advisory Services Program

The Challenge: Reduce Barriers to Electrifying School Buses

Despite the long-term savings and health benefits of going electric, school districts face barriers to electrifying their school bus fleets, including:

Additional upfront costs to purchase buses and associated charging infrastructure
Coordination with third-party transportation providers for school districts that prefer to lease
Gaps in technical knowledge necessary to transition from diesel to electric bus operation
Resource and budget constraints

About ACT School Bus Advisory Services Program

Through the ACT School Bus Advisory Services Program, MassCEC provides free fleet electrification planning support to public school districts across Massachusetts. MassCEC is working with a consultant team to address the gap in technical knowledge impeding school bus fleets from electrifying. The consultants will provide public school districts and third-party school bus fleet operators technical services such as:

vehicle and charging infrastructure analysis
feasibility designs
financial models
preparing for and applying for future funding opportunities
vehicle and charging station procurement plans
educational materials

The goal of the program is to provide school districts with a clear path to school bus electrification. Note that this program does not provide funding to buy electric school buses; rather it provides advisory services at no charge to school districts.

MassCEC's consultant team is led by VEIC, a sustainable energy non-profit, specializing in energy efficiency, building decarbonization, transportation electrification, and developing a clean and flexible grid. To perform this work, VEIC is partnering with PowerOptions, a New England-based non-profit energy consortium that helps its members achieve energy savings and sustainability goals through group procurement and technical assistance programs, and Energetics, a consulting firm that helps public and private entities integrate clean energy technologies and strategies into real-world applications.

Status

Open

Award Potential

No-Cost Advisory Services

Application Deadline

Rolling

Apply

Questions? Contact

Go to ACT School Bus Overview

Go to ACT School Bus Deployment

Who's Eligible

Eligible applicants include public school districts in Massachusetts. School districts that work with third-party fleet operators are also encouraged to apply.

Participation in this Advisory Services Program does not preclude school districts from participating in future rounds of MassCEC's Fleet Deployment Program, which provides procurement and construction support for school buses and associated equipment.

Benefits of Participation

School districts will receive a Final Fleet Electrification Plan which will include (but not be limited to) the following:

Actionable next steps on funding opportunities and applications
Timeline of required approvals for school bus fleet electrification
Identification of major stakeholders and their roles in the electrification process
Identification of vehicles that can be electrified and suggested timing for procurement decisions
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) recommendations and location recommendations
Identification and presentation of all costs
Outline of post-deployment operations (workforce training, charging schedules, maintenance, etc.)

If your district is seeking funding for assistance with installation of charging stations and operation of electric school buses, please see our electric school bus fleet deployment program. Not sure which program is right for you? See ACT School Bus Overview.

Interested in participating?

Please contact Alex Pine at APine@veic.org to express your interest!

Funding Schedule

Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis.

All dates subject to change at MassCEC's discretion
Process Step	Timing
Fill Out Interest Form	Rolling
Interest Form Follow-Ups or Potential Interviews	Rolling, beginning May 2023
School District Selection	Rolling, beginning June 2023
Advisory Services Begin and Letters of Commitment Signed	Ongoing, beginning June 2023
Final Fleet Electrification Plan and Presentation	6 months from selection

Resources and Support

Key Resources

ACT School Bus Advisory Services Webinar on Procurement - December 2023 (Slides; Recording)

ACT School Bus Advisory Webinar - October 2023 (Slides; Recording)

ACT School Bus Advisory Newsletter - September 2023

ACT School Bus Advisory Services Program Quarterly Meeting - May 2023 (Slides; Recording)

Support from Our Team

Email us at cleantransportation@masscec.com with any questions or to set up a call with MassCEC's Clean Transportation team.

Virtual Office Hours: We've set up several 30-minute time slots for you to speak directly with our Clean Transportation team.

Program Structure

The responsibilities and expectations of each of the program participants are summarized below, and may not be exhaustive.

School District

Participate in a kickoff call, monthly meetings, and quarterly meetings with the advisory consultant, MassCEC and other relevant stakeholders
Provide baseline fleet assessment data, e.g., fleet size and makeup, route data and schedules, current fuel types and costs
Lead efforts to engage with all relevant stakeholders, e.g., local utility, school district officials, third-party fleet operators

Advisory Consultant

Engage directly with the school district to request baseline fleet data information
Provide assessments (e.g., site assessments, charging and infrastructure needs assessments, etc.) that inform decision-making options for school bus fleets
Conduct several analyses, including a vehicle needs analysis and an emissions reduction analysis, to guarantee electric fleet recommendations meet needs of school district
Evaluate technical and financial data to complete an individualized Fleet Electrification Roadmap