Legislation would replace mandate with pilot programto evaluate performance in urban, rural and suburban areas
From the Office of NY State Senator George Borrello, pictured in committee
ALBANY, NY — Senator George Borrello today announced that Senate Democrats on the Education Committee blocked his legislation (S.4748) that would repeal the state’s all-electric school bus mandate and replace it with a common-sense pilot program to evaluate performance across New York’s diverse climates and communities.
The bill would have directed the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study and provide recommendations based on real-world data from rural, urban and suburban districts. Instead, the measure was defeated outright, preventing it from advancing to the full Senate for consideration.
“Albany Democrats are continuing to double down on a politically driven electric school bus mandate, ignoring mounting evidence from superintendents across the state that this policy is a financial and operational disaster,” said Senator Borrello. “My bill offered a responsible alternative: replace the mandate with a pilot program to evaluate real-world performance before imposing it statewide. Instead, Democrats wouldn’t even consider it, choosing politics over practical solutions. Their so-called commitment to affordability is nothing more than empty election-year spin.”
School districts already running electric buses report serious, persistent challenges. Erie County’s Lake Shore Central School District launched 20 buses with high expectations and watched them collapse under winter conditions: heating in the bus was cut back to spare the battery life, leaving students forced to endure cold bus rides. Naples Central tells a similar story: cold weather decreasing bus performance and inflating charging demands, pushing operating costs to three to five times that of diesel.
Most recently, the Bethlehem Central School District in suburban Albany reported in its school budget mailing to district residents that it will not expand its current fleet of 10 electric buses due to ongoing performance and charge management issues that limit service miles. The district also noted the buses have been out of service an average of 66 days during the school year.
In addition to higher operating costs, the upfront purchase price of electric buses, often exceeding $435,000, far surpasses the roughly $168,000 cost of a traditional diesel bus. Districts must also invest in new electrical infrastructure and charging capacity, further driving up costs.
“This is not a harmless transition; it is an unfunded, unworkable mandate that forces schools to spend more for buses that, in many cases, do less,” Borrello added. “Those costs will ultimately be borne by taxpayers, school districts, and students, as funding is diverted away from classrooms, programs, and essential services.”
Senator Borrello emphasized that his legislation would have allowed the state to take a data-driven approach by testing electric buses under a variety of real-world conditions before requiring universal adoption.
“Our obligation is not to protect a political agenda,” said Borrello. “Our obligation is to protect students, taxpayers, and schools. A pilot program would provide the transparency and accountability needed to make informed decisions. Blocking that approach is indefensible.”
