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The cost of diesel is near all-time highs - about 6.40 a gallon on average. Now, when fuel prices go up, some people cut back on driving. But that is not an option for school bus drivers. Rae Solomon of Colorado Public Radio reports.
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RAE SOLOMON, BYLINE: Twice a day every day, school buses across the country are dispatched to bring kids to and from the schoolyard. About 9 out of 10 run on diesel fuel, like this one.
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RAE SOLOMON: In Jefferson County, Colorado, school district transportation director Nathan Reimer says the fleet is big.
NATHAN REIMER: We are - what is it? - 393, I believe. So just shy of 400 buses.
RAE SOLOMON: They cruise through the suburbs, rumble up foothills and wind along mountain roads, covering more than 20,000 miles a day and burning up a lot of diesel.
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RAE SOLOMON: And this year, diesel prices have spiked.
REIMER: The spend we're doing this year is staggeringly higher than even last year.
RAE SOLOMON: That dramatic price jump is hitting school districts where it hurts - right in the transportation budget.
REIMER: So we have started talking about - are there ways to kind of make our routes a little smarter if this continues on?
RAE SOLOMON: It's the same situation in school districts across the country, according to Peter Mannella with the National Association of Pupil Transportation. And it's becoming a funding crisis.
PETER MANNELLA: They have to look at, do we take the team to the football game, or do we let mom and dad do that? Do we have field trips to museums?
RAE SOLOMON: Reimer with the Jefferson County District hopes it doesn't come to that.
REIMER: I didn't budget for a war in Iran to affect my diesel prices the way it did.
RAE SOLOMON: I mean, nobody can budget for an unforeseen war in Iran. But a tiny handful of school districts are better prepared for this moment.
JILL SELLARS: Hello, kiddos.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #1: Hello.
RAE SOLOMON: In Boulder, Colorado, bus driver Jill Sellars takes kids to and from school in an electric bus.
SELLARS: Hello. Hello. Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #2: Hello.
SELLARS: Hello. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #2: Good.
RAE SOLOMON: Sellars has been driving this bus - named Evie (ph), what else? - since 2020. It's quiet, and it has a lot of power. It also, notably, does not run on diesel. And most school buses in Boulder don't either.
DAVID SELF: Our cost for diesel fuel expenditure so far this year is 12% down from where it was last year. I know. It's surprising.
RAE SOLOMON: That's David Self, the district's assistant transportation director, who says their buses run mostly on propane and unleaded fuel, with some electric buses in the mix too.
SELF: It is really diversified. It's something that we continue to work on.
RAE SOLOMON: It's a mix of fuel types they started building up about a decade ago, not because of high diesel costs but because the local community made a big climate push to cut carbon emissions. Insulation from runaway diesel prices turns out to be a side benefit.
SELF: We're far in front of the curve, so to speak, and we just need to stay that way.
RAE SOLOMON: Of course, for most districts, changing up the school bus fleet is hardly a solution to today's diesel crisis. After all, you can't just snap your fingers and put a new propane or e-bus on the road. And they're still a lot more expensive than your standard diesel.
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RAE SOLOMON: Boulder, like most districts that already have these buses on the road, got federal help. The 2021 Infrastructure Law set aside $5 billion for cleaner school buses. The Trump administration says it is reviewing that effort, calling it, quote, "a disaster of" "wasteful spending."
SELLARS: Josh (ph), are you the last one?
RAE SOLOMON: For NPR News, I'm Rae Solomon on the bus in Boulder, Colorado.
SELLARS: Bye, Luna. Bye, Delilah. Bye, Baron. Bye, Alana. Bye, Andy.
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