During the week, yellow school buses deliver students to and from schools across the Central Coast, most of them burning increasingly costly fuel.
“As far as diesel goes, drivers are paying 15 cents less than a week ago, but they’re still paying 75 cents more than a month ago," said Anlleyn Venegas, AAA spokesperson.
The San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) gets its diesel from local supplier JB Dewar.
“We’re under annual contract with our supplier, so at this point we haven’t seen any increases in fuel prices, but it is possible. We’ve been informed that at some point prices may be raised,” said Phillip Tarver, SLCUSD Transportation Supervisor.
Bus driver Tate Hamilton drives about 130 miles a day, with stops in Morro Bay, including the high school and Del Mar Elementary.
“I fill up my tank every other day. I do it personally," Hamilton said. "We fill up our tanks when they are about halfway empty, so yeah, it takes every other day.”
Tarver said that through various grants, the district has been able to purchase 11 electric buses, including five that are already in service.
As a result, they’ve seen a 13% reduction in total fuel costs.
“The electric buses, they’re much more efficient per mile. They have an equivalent of 25 miles per gallon, while a diesel bus is going to run more like seven to eight miles per gallon,” Tarver said.
However, he added that electric buses can go about 135 miles per charge, while the full-size diesel buses have 100-gallon tanks, allowing for longer distance travel.
“We do have to look at the mileage that the routes do per day and see if that fits in with the electric bus because we are a little bit more limited on mileage,” Tarver said.
The district will continue to roll out the rest of its new electric buses.
