Electric school buses are rolling out across the country, but behind every successful deployment is something far less glamorous: planning. At Sawatch Labs, we are firm believers that real, detailed, data-driven planning is the key to a successful electric fleet transition.
Our team at Sawatch Labs combines analytics, partnerships, and hands-on experience to help school districts plan for electric buses and the associated charging infrastructure. Through our work with over 200 fleets and partnerships with organizations like Xcel Energy and Geotab, we’re uniquely positioned to guide districts through every step of the electrification journey—from initial data gathering to long-term infrastructure planning.
With businesses losing federal funding to transition to EV in 2026, that planning discipline matters more than ever. Districts that model their routes, power needs, and long-term costs with their own data can move forward on solid ground as grant programs change around them.
What Does a Successful School Bus Electrification Plan Include?
A successful school bus electrification plan matches each bus to a route it can reliably complete, sizes charging infrastructure to actual energy demand, and proves long-term savings with a total cost of ownership (TCO) model. The plan continues after deployment, tracking performance and emissions so districts can confirm results and report them to decision-makers.
Sawatch Labs supports each stage with a dedicated tool built on your fleet’s own telematics data:
ezEV (suitability assessment): Analyzes second-by-second driving data from your current diesel buses to identify which ones an electric vehicle (EV) can replace without disrupting service.
ezIO (infrastructure planning): Calculates when and where your buses will need to charge, so you can size chargers and electrical service to real demand.
ionEV (EV management): Tracks deployed electric buses to confirm they are hitting savings targets and charging on schedule.
EMIT (emissions reporting): Produces defensible emissions figures aligned with recognized reporting standards for grant compliance and public updates.
Who Benefits from Data-Driven School Bus Electrification?
Electrifying a school bus fleet touches nearly every department in a district, and each one needs different answers from the data.
Transportation directors gain route-by-route confidence that electric buses will finish every run, in every season.
Facilities and operations teams learn exactly where chargers belong and how much electrical capacity each depot requires.
Business executives and finance teams receive a multi-year cost forecast they can build budgets around.
Sustainability leaders and school boards get verified emissions reductions to share with funders and the community.
Utilities see accurate load projections that help them plan grid upgrades on a realistic timeline.
Optimizing School Bus Electrification with Real Data
One of the central themes of the webinar was the value of data—real-world, long-term, fleet-specific data. At Sawatch Labs, we use advanced energy modeling and fleet operational data to understand how vehicles are being used and the mechanics of replacing them with EVs. When we start a project, four of the most important questions we ask are:
How much energy does each vehicle need for driving each day of the week?
Where will the vehicles be parked?
How long do vehicles sit idle?
What’s the local climate, terrain, and traffic like?
These questions were our focus while working with Denver Public Schools (DPS), in collaboration with Xcel Energy’s Fleet Electrification Advisory Program. We analyzed more than two years of driving data for 500-plus DPS vehicles. We aimed to do the following: determine which vehicles could be replaced with EVs; identify where charging infrastructure should be located; and minimize any impact on day-to-day operations in the process.
The results showed that 250 vehicles were technically suitable for EV replacement, and 89 of those made operational and financial sense to replace. A nuanced understanding, that balances climate goals with financial reality, is what our platform and analysis provides. Additionally, the analysis identified which ICE buses were ideal candidates to replace with battery electric buses. This replacement plan would be accomplished through the EPA Clean School Bus grant program.
Our operational data analysis over the last two years allowed DPS to optimize the list of buses ideal for replacement. This ensured the vehicles met all of the federal requirements for historic utilization and were the best candidates for electrification.
Right-Sizing Infrastructure and Setting Realistic Expectations
Planning charging infrastructure is often one of the most intimidating parts of the electrification process, but it doesn’t have to be. In our recent webinar, we shared how thoughtful planning, backed by data, helped Denver Public Schools (DPS) approach adoption with clarity and confidence.
Using detailed modeling and site-specific analysis, we showed that right-sizing charging infrastructure could reduce infrastructure costs by as much as 65%. By aggregating site demand and mapping out energy use over time, we helped DPS develop plans based on projected charging demand. This allowed DPS to plan the construction of a central charging hub that met their current needs while leaving room for future growth.
We also looked closely at seasonal patterns, operational changes due to bell schedule changes across the district, and field trip schedules to flag rare high-usage days that might require midday charging, all while keeping investments lean. And we identified opportunities for managed charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications—strategies that reduce peak demand costs and strengthen overall grid resilience.
Planning infrastructure this way is a lot like measuring a space before a remodel: you need to understand your constraints before making major changes. Our data-driven analysis provides utilities and facilities staff and engineers the insights they need to design for today with the future in mind.
How ezIO Pinpoints the Power Your Bus Yard Needs
ezIO calculates minute-by-minute energy demand across the bus yard to identify the exact kilowatt (kW) capacity and kilowatt-hour (kWh) energy each site requires. Districts use those figures to build charging schedules that stay within available grid capacity and avoid costly peak-demand charges.
Early outreach to your electric utility is a great first step before building out your infrastructure, and the conversation moves faster when your team arrives with numbers. Utilities need to know how much power the depot will draw, at what times, and how that demand will grow as more buses arrive, because those answers determine whether a transformer or substation upgrade is required. ezIO supplies them.
With a clear demand profile in hand, districts can align charging with off-peak time-of-use (TOU) rates, stagger charging sessions across the night, and request electrical service sized to real demand. The savings show up twice: lower construction costs today and lower utility bills every month after.
Dwell time drives the hardware decision. ezIO shows how long each bus sits at the depot and when it must leave fully charged, which reveals where lower-cost chargers will do the job and where a faster unit earns its place.
| Charger Type | Best Fit | Typical School Bus Use | Planning Consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC Level 2 | Long overnight or midday dwell times | Daily home-to-school routes that return to the depot each night | Lower equipment and installation costs with a lighter load on the grid |
| DC fast charging | Short windows between runs | Long rural routes, field trips, and athletic or extracurricular runs | Higher equipment costs and demand charges, so deploy selectively where data proves the need |
Small Starts and Scalable Solutions
You don’t have to electrify everything at once. In fact, starting with low-cost, low-risk segments of the fleet, such as light-duty “white fleet” vehicles used for maintenance or administration is recommended. These vehicles are typically easier to electrify and can serve as proof points that help build trust and buy-in across departments.
Our analysis also supports fleet rightsizing: Identifying underutilized vehicles that can be removed from the roster entirely. This reduces not only emissions and fuel costs but also future capital expenses. Every vehicle you don’t need is one less vehicle to replace down the line.
How to Get Started with School Bus Electrification
Most districts administer school bus electrification in phases spanning several years. Each phase builds on real operating data from the one before it, which keeps decisions grounded as the fleet grows.
Step 1: Collect Operational Data from Your Current Fleet
Start by activating telematics on your existing diesel buses and gathering six months to a year of driving data. That window captures seasonal swings like winter heating loads, summer schedule changes, and field trip season, giving every later decision an accurate foundation.
Step 2: Identify the Right Buses and Routes
ezEV uses operational data to rank each bus by suitability and cost savings, and it flags underutilized vehicles that can be retired right away. Many districts also prioritize routes in neighborhoods with the most air pollution, so the first electric buses have the most immediate and highest impact.
Step 3: Plan Infrastructure and Engage Your Utility
With your first wave of buses identified, ezIO models the depot’s charging demand so you can open utility discussions with precise kW and kWh figures. This is also the moment to ask about make-ready programs, TOU rates, and the lead times for any electrical upgrades.
Step 4: Build the Financial Case and Pursue Funding
A TCO model built on your own data shows the school board what electrification will cost and save over the life of each bus. That case strengthens grant applications and gives you the data you need to make a case for continued electrification when funding programs change.
Step 5: Prepare Your People and Your Community
Drivers benefit from training on regenerative braking and energy-efficient driving, while mechanics need instruction in high-voltage safety and EV maintenance. Clear communication with students, parents, and local first responders builds excitement and answers questions before the first electric bus pulls up to pick up passengers .
Step 6: Deploy, Measure, and Scale
Once buses are on the road, ionEV and EMIT track performance, savings, and emissions against the original projections. Those results guide the next round of purchases, refining each phase of the rollout as you build your mixed-energy fleet.
Bridging the Gap Between Vehicles and Infrastructure
Every fleet electrification journey comes with a few bumps in the road. The key is engaging with an experienced partner who knows how to guide you with clarity and confidence. One common challenge we see is misaligned timelines—vehicles arriving before infrastructure is in place, or chargers installed long before they’re needed. That’s why we encourage districts to take a long-term view, even when immediate funding is limited.
Our work with DPS is a great example. By identifying infrastructure phases that could be rolled out over time, we helped them pace their investment while staying aligned with their broader electrification goals.
Collaboration Is Key
Perhaps the most important message from the webinar is this: school bus electrification is a cross-functional, joint effort. School districts don’t have to go it alone. Sawatch Labs works closely with utilities, state programs, technology providers, and industry partners to ensure districts have access to the right resources at the right time.
We offer objective, data-driven insights with no sales agenda. Our primary objective is providing actionable information schools can use to make the best possible decisions when it comes to school bus electrification. Whether you’re starting with just a few vehicles or planning for a district-wide transformation, our tools and services are built to scale.
Learn More & Watch the Webinar
If you’re a school district exploring fleet electrification (or already in the middle of it), we encourage you to watch the full webinar and hear directly from our team. You’ll learn more about the methodology, our DPS analysis, the partnerships that made their electrification possible, and the strategic insights that helped Denver Public Schools align their climate goals with financial reality.
Every district’s path to school bus electrification looks different, and every successful one starts with real data. Schedule a demo to see how ezEV, ezIO, ionEV, and EMIT can turn your fleet’s telematics into a confident, fully funded plan for electric school buses.
