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ELKINS – The Randolph County Board of Education received positive feedback from county personnel Tuesday about electric school buses – including a driver saying he had no complaints about the vehicles.
Randolph County Schools Transportation Director Nick Alfred provided the BOE with an update on the county’s electric school buses during Tuesday evening’s regular meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Derek Lambert said he was asked to have Alfred, who is also the county’s Facilities/Maintenance and School Safety director, give an update on the buses.
Both of the school system’s electric school buses were purchased last year. The buses came with a price tag of $774,064, but because of a state EPA grant the school system received, it only had to pay $32,704 for both buses. The county had to pay an additional $34,780 for an electric charger that charges up both Thomas Jouley buses.
Alfred said the school system received the first bus in October 2025, and since that time the vehicle has accumulated a bit more than 2,500 miles. He said the bus is driven by Jerry Arbogast and typically covers 33 miles per day.
“The only issue we had with the first bus that we received was that the air compressor had to be replaced,” Alfred said. “And that was covered under the bus’s warranty.”
Alfred said the school system received the second bus in May and that it is driven by bus driver David Jones. It currently has around 200 miles on its odometer, according to Alfred, and is driven 37 miles per day on Jones’ route.
“Every bus goes through preventive maintenance, even the electric ones, so our mechanic is bringing them in every so many miles and looking at the brakes, tires, lights, coolants, and those types of things,” Alfred said. “That’s pretty much all we do for those buses.”
Alfred said the thing he hears the most about the electric buses is how quiet they are compared to a conventional bus.
“It’s as quiet as quiet can be on those buses,” Alfred said. “The older buses are very loud to the point where sometimes you can’t hear in the seat behind you.”
Alfred asked Jones, the driver of the newest bus, to share some of his driving experiences.
“They are very, very quiet, and as far as the heaters and the air conditioners go, they heat up a lot faster than a regular bus does, it’s instant heat,” Jones said. “I only have to charge it about every 2 1/2 days -- I don’t have any complaints about it.”
Board President Rachel Burns asked Jones how long it took the electric buses to charge.
“Usually a couple hours,” Jones said. “The battery will run down a little more, though, when I’m running the air conditioner or heater a lot. In those cases I usually have to charge it every 1 1/2 days instead. But it seems to be a very nice bus and it is really quiet. The kids and the drivers don’t have to talk as loud.”
Lambert told the BOE members that if they wanted to take a field trip on the buses at some point in the future that he would encourage them to do that.
Each bus can transport up to 77 passengers, and can typically travel for up to 150 miles on a single charge.
The next Randolph County Board of Education meeting will be Sept. 1 at 5:30 p.m.