Sustainable Transit: West Aurora's Shift to Electric School Buses
West Aurora School District 129 has deployed 27 all-electric Blue Bird school buses, establishing what is now the Chicago region’s largest electric school bus fleet. The move represents a significant operational shift for the district, which has been expanding its sustainability and efficiency initiatives through solar projects, facility upgrades, and waste-reduction programs.
The fleet transition was carried out in partnership with Highland Electric Fleets, which oversaw vehicle procurement, charging infrastructure, and ongoing fleet services under its Electrification-as-a-Service model. Fourteen Zerova 60-kW chargers now support daily operations and leave room for future scalability as electric demand grows.
Funding for the project drew on nearly $5 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, supplemented by ComEd incentives that included $450,000 in vehicle rebates and about $480,000 in make-ready support for charging infrastructure.
District officials characterized the shift to electric transportation as part of a broader effort to reduce emissions and control long-term costs. “West Aurora is proud to strengthen our commitment to our schools and community by adding electric buses to our sustainability efforts,” said Dr. Angie Smith, SD129 Associate Superintendent of Operations. “We continue to work to find ways to provide a healthier environment for our students and families, while also achieving savings for our taxpayers. We hope to be able to demonstrate to other districts that electrification of even a portion of your fleet can make a difference that we can all benefit from.”
Project partners included Central States Bus Sales, ComEd, and Grand Kahn Electric, which handled installation of the charging systems. ComEd leaders pointed to the initiative as part of a growing set of transportation-electrification projects supported by the utility. “ComEd is proud to fund electrification projects like West Aurora School District 129's and hundreds of others across the region as our customers and communities take steps toward a lower carbon future,” said Gil Quiniones, President and CEO of ComEd. “EV rebates are helping reduce the upfront costs while also bringing us closer to achieving the state's energy and climate goals.”
Highland Electric Fleets said the district’s approach reflects a long-term planning mindset that other organizations are beginning to adopt. “West Aurora's leadership is evident across everything they do, from energy efficiency to waste reduction and now transportation,” said Joshua Williams, Senior Midwestern Regional Manager at the company. “They're showing what it looks like when a district turns long-term commitments into measurable progress for students and the community.”