Fontana rolls out new electric school buses

FONTANA, Calif. (KABC) -- The newest school buses in Fontana are completely electric. They were acquired with help from the electric company Southern California Edison.

Electric buses have been used for every day transit in Long Beach. Now, it's time to use them for students.

"The school districts and the students that will be benefiting from the grant live in areas that have some of the worst air quality in the state of California," said Lisa Woon, a principal manager from SoCal Edison.

SoCal Edison helped administer a grant program with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and a private foundation. The grants are used to get the electric buses to school districts without them having to strain their budgets.

With a range of about 100 miles, they work well in a setting with fixed routes.

The buses will be charged after morning rounds and overnight when the grid is less taxed.

"We were really looking carefully at the peak usage, the time of use and when we're going to be using electricity. We're really mindful about how that affects the grid," said Woon.

SoCal Edison has plans to help more districts switch to electric buses in the near future.