Zum Deploys Nation’s First 100% Electric School Bus Fleet in Oakland, California for the 2024-2025 School Year

Historic achievement in Oakland Unified School District will improve children’s health and return energy to the grid

Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, has deployed an all-electric fleet of school buses in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), making it the first major school district in the U.S. to transition to a 100% electrified school bus system. This first-in-the-nation EV fleet is also equipped with groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, enabling the buses to return energy to the grid at scale when not in use.

 

Zum is deploying a fleet of 74 electric school buses in Oakland, each with its own bidirectional charger, managed via an AI-enabled Virtual Power Plant (VPP). The all-EV fleet will decarbonize student transportation while sending 2.1 gigawatt hours of energy back to the grid annually.

“Today marks an exciting milestone in student transportation,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. “By converting Oakland Unified’s school bus fleet to 100% electric, we are showing that sustainability solutions are here – and can positively impact an entire community. Electric school buses with V2G capability create cleaner transportation and send untapped energy from bus batteries back to the grid. It’s a win-win for children, families, schools and drivers.”

Student transportation is the largest mass transit system in the nation, moving 27 million students twice daily. Today, over 90% of the nation’s 500,000 school buses run on carbon-based fuels, releasing over 8.4 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, exposing students and communities to harmful fumes every day. Oakland’s EV fleet will help remove 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases from the environment, which will have a major impact on the community.

“OUSD is proud to lead the way with safe and sustainable transportation for our students,” said Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell of Oakland Unified School District. “This is a landmark achievement, especially in Oakland, where families are disproportionately impacted by exposure to air pollution and high rates of asthma and other respiratory ailments. Zum’s electric school buses provide our students quieter, cleaner rides to and from school, giving them a better chance at success in the classroom, while ensuring the District is doing its part to cut down on air pollution to the benefit of all Oakland residents.”

Zum’s utility partner, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, worked closely with Zum to complete the site, which involved extensive infrastructure upgrades and other equipment to power 74 bi-directional EV chargers. PG&E was able to provide 2.7 megawatts of load to Zum’s Oakland EV-ready facility in record time, allowing this project to be deployed one year ahead of schedule.

“Converting to electric transportation reduces the leading cause of emissions and has the potential to offer a flexible power supply that benefits all customers. Our partnership with Zum and Oakland Unified on its fully electric school bus fleet is a blueprint for schools across California and the nation to better serve our students, local communities and, ultimately, our planet,” said PG&E Corporation CEO Patti Poppe.

Other partners that have been critical to the electrification of the OUSD fleet include the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus program, California Air Resources Board (CARB), Heavy Vehicle Incentive Program (HVIP) vouchers, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and Clean Mobility Options (CMO) programs.

“With funding to Zum of over $35 million for California school districts, EPA is proud to be advancing the rollout of electric school buses here in Oakland and across our state, helping create a future where our children can breathe cleaner air,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Deputy Regional Administrator Cheree Peterson. “I’ve seen firsthand the advantages of these electric buses, with the absence of noxious diesel emissions benefiting students, school staff, and neighboring communities. Thanks to the unprecedented federal investments in this technology, more zero-emissions school buses will be on the road in Oakland.”

Zum has set a goal of electrifying 10,000 bidirectional school buses which will create the potential to supply 300 gigawatt hours of energy to local power grids annually. Plans are already underway for Zum to deploy 100% electric fleets across the country in the coming years.

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