105 Fast EV Charging Stations Coming To Boston Public Schools

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Orion Energy Systems recently announced it will install 105 fast EV chargers for Boston Public Schools on a $4 million contract. EV chargers at schools often means chargers for electric buses, not hybrids, and that’s the case here. CleanTechnica has published many articles about electric school buses because they have benefits, and chief among them is they generate no direct toxic air pollution so the children who ride them are not exposed to harmful air pollution as they are when they ride gas and diesel buses.

To confirm the chargers are in fact for electric buses, the company’s press release stated, “Orion’s Voltrek division is installing 105 DC fast charging stations and related infrastructure at the Freeport Bus Yard operated by the Boston Public Schools, one of the company’s largest customers and one of the most prominent school districts in the United States. Like a number of Orion/Voltrek installations for BPS, the new units feature an innovative above-ground mounting method with Jersey barriers. Orion/Voltrek is a recurring partner in the BPS initiative to electrify 100% of the district’s 750 school buses. The BPS effort is the Northeastern United States’ largest school-bus electrification program.”

When Boston Public Schools have 750 electric buses in operation, the students who ride them will be breathing easier. 

The US EPA has published the following information about electric school bus benefits:

• Zero tailpipe pollution — students, drivers, and members of the community will be exposed to significantly less harmful diesel emissions like PM and NOX
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to diesel school buses
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Less brake wear due to regenerative braking and no engine or exhaust system maintenance
• Potential for reduced fuel costs compared to diesel, depending on electricity costs
• Quiet, clean operation
• Potential for fleets to partner with local utilities to feed power back into the grid when buses are not in use and electricity demand is high
• Improved student attendance and academic achievement.

In the first bulleted line above, PM means particulate matter, which is emitted in the exhaust of diesel vehicles. It has been linked to many human health problems. NOX means nitrogen oxides, which also harm people. While fossil fuels combustion is the number one contributor to climate change, exhaust from gas and diesel vehicles also is toxic to people, including children. Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable populations in relation to toxic air pollution.

The US EPA website does not go into depth enough, but another site does, saying, “Every day, an estimated 21 million students ride to school on diesel-burning school buses, which expose them to dangerous diesel exhaust pollution. This pollution has been proven to cause cancer, asthma, respiratory issues and even problems with brain development.”

Some people who are uneducated on the subject matter try to claim electric school buses cost too much, but when considering all the costs, including the costs to children’s health, the environment, and the cost to communities from toxic air pollution emitted by diesel buses, electric school buses do not cost too much.

Some may become confused and think the price at the pump is the cost of diesel fuel, but there are many other considerations, sometimes called negative externalities. Another cost that many might not be aware of is the fact that the oil and gas industry receives subsidies, “A report from Oil Change International published in September 2025 found that the U.S. federal government spends $35 billion per year on handouts to the fossil fuel industry.”