TACOMA, Wash. — Governor Jay Inslee was in Tacoma Monday to test drive the first all-electric school bus in Washington state.
Students, parents and state leaders gathered at the Franklin Pierce High School stadium to see the bus debut with Gov. Inslee driving laps around the stadium.
Officials from the Franklin-Pierce School District say the test drive is part of a pilot program. They say if the bus works well, they'd like to replace all of their diesel buses with the electric alternative.
Organizers say the bus features a custom educational dashboard that shows energy savings in real-time.
Tacoma Public Utilities is helping to develop an infrastructure that would work if the district transitioned to electric buses.
The bus was purchased with $330,000 from TransAlta's Centralia Coal Transition Grants.
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