Overview

• Ann Arbor Public Schools entered the electric-bus space early, launching a pilot in 2019 with four vehicles. That experiment has since been formalized into a districtwide replacement agenda covering a 131-bus fleet.

• The district’s published endpoint is full electrification by 2035, with a planned cadence of roughly 10–16 electric buses added each year. This schedule is explicitly framed as a long, steady fleet turnover rather than a one-time conversion.

• Progress markers are laid out in AAPS’ May 13, 2025 update: Four buses were already on daily routes by January 2025, four more were slated for April 2025 service, and six additional units are expected in spring 2026. If delivered on schedule, that sequence brings the fleet to 14 electric buses for the 2026–27 school year.

• Expansion is being underwritten by major state support. In November 2025, AAPS confirmed a $4 million Michigan Department of Education Clean Bus Energy Grant for 10 more buses, a purchase that public reporting says will bring the total to 24 electric buses out of roughly 130 in daily service; the award sits within Michigan’s Oct. 13, 2025 statewide $35.9 million clean-bus round.

• Infrastructure is scaling alongside the vehicles. AAPS is electrifying the smaller of its two bus depots first—home to 35 buses—with a one-charger-per-bus design and load-management software, and it reports ongoing coordination with DTE Energy to ensure power delivery and to correct earlier charger-reliability problems.

• The district acknowledges uneven early performance: the first electric buses saw higher downtime than diesel counterparts, before stabilizing into regular service by the 2023–24 school year. On emissions, AAPS points to Environmental Defense Fund lifecycle comparisons showing a diesel school bus at about 363 tons of GHG over its service life versus about 116 tons for an electric bus, while reiterating that electric buses have no tailpipe emissions during operation.

• AAPS describes the program’s main success as moving beyond early pilot turbulence into routine service: by the 2023–24 school year, the electric buses were running regular routes after initial technology and maintenance problems were resolved. The district also records two persistent challenges typical of first movers—higher early downtime than diesel buses and subsequent charging-infrastructure reliability issues—both of which AAPS says required phased scaling and direct utility coordination with DTE Energy.

Transcription

David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and I’m David Fair. And I’d like to welcome you to this week’s edition of Issues of the Environment. 2026 looks to be more electric in the Ann Arbor School District. The district’s goal is to achieve full electrification of its bus fleet by the year 2035. And in the coming year, it promises to move the schools closer to that goal. Still, there are challenges to address and overcome. Our guest this morning is going to talk us through it. Moe Nagpal is the manager of construction projects for the Ann Arbor Schools. And thank you so much for making time for us today!

Moe Nagpal: You’re very welcome, David! Glad to be here!

David Fair: In the bigger picture, Moe, how vital is electrification of the bus fleet and the district’s sustainability goals and in terms of helping the City of Ann Arbor reach its carbon neutrality goals?

Moe Nagpal: That’s a great question, David! So, I believe it’s hugely important. As you know, we have a environmental sustainability framework that was adopted by the Board of Education in 2022, and it calls for zero scope one emissions, which is essentially the emissions we have direct control over by the year 2035. And this includes the electric busses’ emissions as well. This goes hand-in-hand, as you said, with the the Ann Arbor and the broader Washtenaw County initiatives as well.

David Fair: When compared one-to-one, what kind of environmental difference can an electric bus make over a traditional diesel bus?

Moe Nagpal: Over the lifetime of a diesel bus, it gives out over 300 tons of greenhouse gasses. And there is an opportunity to reduce, if not eliminate, a majority of those during the operations of a regular diesel school bus. So, I would say the opportunity is quite large.

David Fair: Well, let’s get a handle on exactly where we are. The electric bus initiative began with a pilot program back in 2019, and that included four electric busses. How did that initial pilot project go, and what did you learn from it?

Moe Nagpal: Yeah, that was a great learning experience, to say the least. We were one of the first school districts in Michigan to start using electric school busses. And like most early adopters, we were aware there would be challenges, and we definitely use them as a learning experience so everything from connecting the chargers and the busses, communicate with each other, getting the amount of electric power needed to charge the busses through the local utility DTE, as well as training our own mechanics and, quite frankly, even the drivers to switch. So, all of those were learning opportunities that, after a slow start but a successful pilot program, we’re continuing with that journey.

David Fair: And as we speak today, how many electric busses are on the road?

Moe Nagpal: Yeah. So, at this point, we have eight busses on the road, and we have grants for an additional 16. So, six additional ones are expected to join the fleet in the spring, and we’ll continue that with the additional ten that we have grants for in 2027.

David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Moe Nagpal continues on 89.1 WEMU. He serves as manager of construction projects for the Ann Arbor Public School District. As you mentioned, there are state grants in place to expand the fleet. Much of that funding coming from the state. Now, the district plan is to expand each year. Can you depend on state funding every year to get you to your ultimate goal?

Moe Nagpal: Yeah. Again, that’s a great question. Given the current environment, it’s getting harder to sustain this at the state level and definitely a lot less at the federal level. You know, we have the benefit of utilizing bond funds. And sinking funds, if approved in the future, can also be applied for purchasing school busses. And we’re hopeful that if the community approves that, we could utilize those funds, which will essentially be local funds. And we will not be dependent on the state or the federal funds as much. So, we definitely could utilize them as well in the future.

David Fair: So, are you also looking for funding sources outside of the state grants, outside of local tax or bond initiatives to either supplement the state funding that might be lost should it dry up?

Moe Nagpal: Yes, absolutely! So, we are looking at funds from our local utility, DTE, who has a rebate program for the chargers, as well as opportunities with the charging infrastructure where we could potentially be part of a resilience program and what’s called a V to G, or Vehicle to Grid, where, during the summer, potentially, we could take the unused capacity of the batteries of the busses and put it back in the grid when there is a peak load and get paid for that at that point in time at the rates that apply. So, those are pilots that are being still being developed by DTE and others, and we’re participating in those.

David Fair: Once again, this is 89.1 WEMU’s Issues of the Environment, and we’re talking with Moe Nagpal from the Ann Arbor School District about electrification of the district’s bus fleet. And I’m so glad you brought up DTE because one of the primary obstacles to electric vehicles has constantly been infrastructure. You have what? Two bus depots right now in the district?

Moe Nagpal: That’s correct, yes. There’s one that’s the large lot, I call it. That has about 100 busses. And then, there’s a smaller one that has a capacity of about 30-plus.

David Fair: And ultimately, if the goal is to get the fleet entirely electric, how much challenge is there to building out the infrastructure that would support that number of busses?

Moe Nagpal: Yeah. Again, great question! So, yeah, we’ve been working hand-in-hand with DTE to give them a heads-up of our future needs. And so far, again, we’re following a phased approach, so they know exactly how many would be coming online each year, at least for the next next few years. And so far, we’ve been able to procure the additional capacity needed to charge the busses. And as you said, once we get further past the initial small lot to get the a 100-plus busses in the larger lot powered up, we’ll definitely need a higher capacity. We’re also trying to find innovative ways where we can manage the charging instead of all of them getting turned on at the same time to stage them where that peak load is managed and still be able to charge the busses, especially overnight, where we have a fair bit of dwell time when they’re in the garage for over 12 hours.

David Fair: Beyond the environmental benefits, there is something to consider in that you have a constituency to serve, and that is the students and the parents of students. There has to be some sort of educational campaign to get more people on board. And do you find that, when they learn about it, that they enjoy the ride on the electric busses and that they are supportive of the program as a whole?

Moe Nagpal: Yeah, absolutely! We actually were out there at the Ann Arbor Green Fair–A2Zero Green Fair–this summer and had a bus which was, I think, a pretty big hit with students and parents as well. They could walk into the bus and check it out. We also had the hood open, and a lot of the dads peering in. And obviously, there was no engine there–just the battery. And it was quite, I think, a good experience, just demystifying some of this and actually showing that we have one that is on the road. And I personally feel once the students ride these, it’s very quiet. It’s very comfortable with the low center of gravity, so the roll is a lot lower. And there’s obviously no gas fumes while they’re waiting in line in the morning. So, there’s many, many benefits, and a lot of the families are very appreciative of once they have this ride available for their children and community. I think we’ll hopefully get their support–continue to get their support–and continue to increase the fleet.

David Fair: There are so many what-ifs that crop up, if not every year or every month. But based on what you know today, do you feel as though the district is on track and will reach full electrification of the bus fleet by the goal of 2035?

Moe Nagpal: Yeah, we are on track. Though, the path forward, as you stated early on, is we have to manage through a lot of the funding challenges that are now faced by not just us but anybody who’s trying to do this type of thing. And we’re trying to diversify our sources of funding, getting into more local funding as well as private funding, getting also enrolled in some innovative programs that will pay for some of the the additional costs. And I’m optimistic. I think in the community, we have the support, and we definitely have support from our Board of Education and the leadership. So, we just have to make sure we’re being fiscally responsible as we make these choices and hopefully get to our 2035 five goal of zero scope one emissions.

David Fair: Thank you so much for taking the time today to share the information! I’m most grateful!

Moe Nagpal: You’re very welcome, David! Thank you!

David Fair: That is Moe Nagpal. He is manager of construction projects in the Ann Arbor Public School District and has been our guest on Issues of the Environment. For more information on today’s topic and conversation, stop by our website at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I’m David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!

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