A student-led group on Whidbey Island that advocates for environmental justice wants Island County’s transit agency to steer away from fossil fuels.

The United Student Leaders recently raised concerns about Island Transit’s continued investment in diesel-powered buses. The members alerted the Sno-Island Group of the Sierra Club, which also contacted the agency about the issue.

It turns out that Island Transit leadership agrees with the environmentalists, with some nuance.

“Taking a bus reduces the carbon footprint,” Selene Muldowney-Stratton, marketing and communications officer for Island Transit, said, “and so transit is already environmentally responsible. Island Transit has long been committed to reducing emissions.”

Muldowney-Stratton explained that the agency made a pledge years ago to move toward zero emissions. The fleet already includes 15 propane-powered half buses and three full-sized hybrids.

In addition, Island Transit is moving forward with a pilot project to purchase five electric buses. Muldowney-Stratton said the purchase is partially funded by a grant from the state. Officials hope to have the buses by the end of next year, but it depends on several variables, including the availability of the buses. Part of the project will include the installation of infrastructure for charging the buses.

After hearing from the environmental groups, Island Transit added a study to its budget to determine the feasibility of purchasing buses that run on alternative fuels, which could include batteries or even hydrogen.

The agency is also doing a network analysis to see if routes should be changed to meet the needs of the community. Although ridership has decreased during the pandemic, many residents — including essential workers and the elderly — still rely on buses.

Syd Carver, a member of the United Student Leaders, said the agency’s actions in reducing emissions are encouraging but not enough.

“Island Transit needs to stop contributing to the extraction of nonrenewable resources hurting our environment,” Carver wrote in an email, “and must take bold and urgent action to combat the climate crisis instead of doing what may seem like the easiest short-term solution.”

The students first started to look into the agency’s policies after seeing that its budget included the purchase of replacement diesel buses. Officials explained, however, that Island Transit ordered the buses years earlier — since they take time to build — and can’t cancel the purchase at this point.

Also, Muldowney-Stratton said rural agencies like Island Transit have environmental and technological restraints that urban systems may not have. Some routes on Whidbey Island are more than 300 miles, which is much further than most electric buses are able to travel without being recharged.

Yet Malcolm Cumming, a member of the Sno-Island Group of the Sierra Club, said the technology for electric buses is quickly evolving and the newest generation of batteries can last as long as 325 miles. Also, he pointed out that magnetic induction charging allows buses to simply park over a platform to be charged. Such a station could be set up at the Clinton ferry dock, for example.

Cumming said Everett Transit, which is quickly moving to an all-electric fleet, can serve as an example for Island Transit and other agencies. And he’s excited about the huge amount of funding that’s available for transit in the federal infrastructure bill.

“The money is there and the technology is there,” he said. “It’s a matter of coming up with a plan and doing the homework.”