Danielle Riedl

Momentum for electric vehicles in the United States is starting to slip. After years of rapid growth — fueled by federal incentives and nearly $200 billion in announced EV manufacturing investments — EV sales fell 4% in 2025 following a record-breaking 2024. Since then, at least $19.9 billion in planned manufacturing investments were canceled and automakers have begun rethinking their all-electric future.

The Miami-Dade County Public Schools district (M-DCPS) has plans to reach 100% clean energy by 2030. Electric school buses (ESBs) form a centerpiece of its broader sustainability strategy. As the seventh-most populous county in the U.S. and the fourth-largest public school district in the country, it’s one of the largest public-school districts in the nation to incorporate ESBs in its fleet.

Steve Easterday would start and end the school year with the windows open. In the fall and spring, when the weather turned temperate in central Tennessee, his passengers – Putnam County School students of all ages – would slide down the windows. That was when his headaches would start. Easterday, who has driven school buses for the 12,000-student district for a decade, always figured that the seasonal pollen drifting through the open windows was to blame.