Branford Public Schools has signed a 10-year, $60 million (€55 million) transportation contract with California-based Zum, marking the first agreement of its kind in Connecticut and setting the district on a path to a fully electric school bus fleet within five years. The Branford initiative aligns with Connecticut's legislative goal of deploying zero-emission school buses in environmental justice communities by 2030. The project is supported by federal and state funding programs, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Rebate Program, with allocations exceeding $6 million (€5.6 million) for vehicle and infrastructure costs.
Highland Electric Fleets will provide 500 zero-emission school buses for the 2028 Olympic games to be held in Los Angeles. The vehicles, normally idle during the summer months, will be repurposed to transport accredited stakeholders across venues in Los Angeles. The initiative, presented at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum with Mayor Karen Bass, LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover, and Highland CEO Duncan McIntyre, is described as a first-of-its-kind program for a global sporting event.