PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The School District of Palm Beach County is going green, unveiling the first of its new fleet of electric school buses Friday.
Five buses are scheduled to be rolled out by the end of February with more implemented in phases.
WATCH BELOW: School district transportation director 'pleased and proud' to introduce new electric buses
WPTV spoke to a school bus driver eager to get behind the wheel of one of the new buses.
"These electric buses are super cool," bus driver Nadine Cousins said. "They drive smooth. They are quiet. They are energy efficient, and we love it."
The total cost of the new buses was about $19 million with a $13.7 million grant helping to offset that figure, according to Shane Searchwell, the director of transportation for the School District of Palm Beach County.
School officials said they were able to purchase the buses with a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and a collaboration with Florida Power & Light for the chargers.
The district said they will eventually roll out about 40 of the electric buses, which take about five hours to charge.
