HI HR134

Urges Hawaii's Department of Education and Board of Education to develop a plan to transition public school buses to electric buses, with a report due to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the 2027 Regular Session.

Cites Oakland Unified School District's 2024-2025 deployment of 74 electric school buses as the first fully electrified fleet of a major U.S. school district, demonstrating proven benefits.

Oakland's electric bus transition reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 25,000 metric tons annually and returns about 2.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the grid each year.

Electric buses offer longer lifespans (twice that of traditional diesel buses), lower fuel and maintenance costs, cleaner air for students, and can serve as mobile emergency power sources during disasters.

Aligns with Hawaii's statutory goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and eliminate dependence on imported fuels for ground transportation.