ANGOLA N.Y. (WKBW) — Lake Shore High School is beginning to replace the roaring morning buses with a new electric bus. The school district cut the ribbon on Monday unveiling their new electric bus.
Superintendent Daniel Pacos said this is a step into the future.
"New York State has changed its regulation in five year schools will no longer be able to buy a diesel or a gas powered bus," Pacos said. "Within 10 years we have to have all the gas powered buses out of our fleet and have all zero emission."
School leaders said the new electric bus will reduce air pollution, make less noise and help save money on fuel. Lake Shore High transportation supervisor Perry Oddy said this is a great opportunity for the community.
"I'm very happy to have a battery operated bus with us. We've worked very hard over the past 16 to 18 months to make this possible for our district and for our community," Oddy said. "So it's a very good feeling."
Lake Shore High School sophomore Alexa Jones is the first student to ride the new bus.
"It's very smooth and very quiet. You're used to hearing it even in the back you are used to hearing it," Jones said. "It's just so much quieter and its way smoother."
The Superintendent says he hopes the quieter ride will help students better behave on the way to and from school. But there are still some concerns.
"Honestly I'm a little worried cause its a beautiful brand new bus and some kids aren't always as respectful to the buses," Jones said. "So I definitely think there are going to be some issues there. But other than that, all in all, I think most kids are great on the bus. I feel like a lot of kids are going to enjoy this."
The new bus will hit the streets on the first day of school. Technicians, drivers and first-responders will being training until than.
