LONGVIEW, Texas — With Texas known as an oil state, three different transportation and energy advocacy groups were in Longview on Tuesday making their pitch as to why the Lone Star State should embrace electric vehicles.
"Hate to admit it, but I used to be one of those people that would occasionally make jokes about electric vehicles and hybrids. And the thing that really opened my eyes was my first ride in one," electric vehicle owner and advocate Skyler Williams said.
When a lot of folks think of electric vehicles, they think about going for a joy ride in the Tesla - but that’s not always the case.
A part of the presentation at the event introduced the prosperous growth of electric school buses in East Texas.
"This has the potential to bring thousands of jobs to Texas. Texas has the potential to be the leader in electric school bus technician training. We can reinvigorate our small towns. We can reinvigorate our community colleges," said Jessica Keithan, director and co-founder of the Texas Electric School Bus Project.
Beyond what they can do for East Texas, Keithan is also passionate about electric school buses because they eliminate a safety risk present in standard gas-powered buses.
"Diesel exhaust concentrates in the cabin of the school bus. It’s been measured to concentrate 10 times more concentrated than the ambient air outside. Essentially we’re gassing our most vulnerable kids on their way to school," Keithan said.
Currently, Kilgore ISD has four operational electric buses and Longview ISD recently approved to purchase 10 of their own. The goal is to hopefully get those buses deployed at the start of the next school year.