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School buses were selected for their large stored potential energy, as well as for their significant downtime during the summer months. As school buses normally sit idle during the summer months, they would be able to support a peak V2G program with a larger portion of their SoC. As a whole, the school bus system is the largest form of public transportation system in the country [9]. With more than 480,000 buses in service across the United States, an entire electric fleet capable of V2G interconnection could be a very attractive alternative.

However, only a fraction of the over 480,000 available school buses are electric, as of 2018 [10]. The largest barrier to entry is the significant cost associated with electric models; a full electric school bus typically costs three times a conventional diesel or propane model. Even so, some school districts are beginning to convert or supplement their fleets with electric models. For example, the White Plains of the New York School District, in partnership with their bus contractor—National Express and Con Edison—has purchased five Lion Electric bus models, each with a battery capacity of 88 kWh [11], specifically with V2G in mind. As part of the agreement, Con Edison contributed US$100,000 [10, 12] towards the purchase of each bus and plans to use all five buses during summer peak periods, which will provide an additional 75 kW of energy to the grid [13].

With such pilot programs, we feel that V2G electric school bus integration could be a reality by 2025, especially if more school districts and operators partner with utilities to help offset the initial, higher costs.