AISD Goes Green

Austin ISD rolls out pioneering plan for fully electric school bus fleet

Although a top concern was children's health, these should save the district money.

Eco-friendly vehicles are hard to say no to. In fact, the entire board of trustees of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) agreed that buses should go completely electric. It voted to convert the district’s entire bus fleet by 2035.

This pioneering move in Texas has already been in place in Boston, New York, and other U.S. districts. Everman Independent School District, near Fort Worth, was first to purchase the electric vehicles, but Austin sets the state record with a total overhaul.

The buses used currently are diesel, which is used in larger vehicles for power and fewer fill-ups. Electric buses, which tend to be more expensive upfront, rely on batteries that need to recharge, like any electric vehicle. However, electric buses have been in increasingly wider use for years, and have demonstrated savings over time through lower operating costs.

The release lays out a time frame to start turning the fleet over, measured by new purchases of electric vehicles:

2023: 25 percent of new school bus purchases
2027: 50 percent of new school bus purchases
2030: 100 percent of new school bus purchases
2035: No more diesel buses remain

In addition to being cheaper and more environmentally friendly, these buses do not expose their riders to exhaust fumes. This was the top concern listed by local officials, including Mayor Steve Adler, who wrote in requesting a commitment to electric vehicles.

“Austin has long been considered a leader on health and environmental issues in the state, and electric school buses offer an opportunity for AISD to take the lead in protecting our environment, economic interests and the health of our school children,” said communications manager of the TexPIRG Education Fund, Shelley Livaudais, in a press release.

The initial call to action asked the district to set aside funds in its proposed bond on the November ballot. It complied, and plans to use funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), among other government programs specifically for schools to access these vehicles. The EPA has a rebate program, and is expected to announce recipients soon.

“We applaud AISD for prioritizing the health of our children and the sustainability of our planet,” said executive director of the Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, Luke Metzger. “By going electric, the motors on the bus will be clean, clean, clean.”

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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