Highland Electric Fleets announced it is expanding its relationship with North Carolina-based Thomas Built Buses, one of the largest U.S. school bus manufacturers, in an effort to lower upfront costs and speed adoption of electric school buses. The two companies signed a letter of intent that will allow Highland to provide electric school bus subscriptions through 2025 at prices they said will put them at cost parity with diesel buses. “School districts taking a long-term approach to electrifying their fleets can now do so today, affordably,” said Duncan McIntyre, CEO of Massachusetts-based Highland. The letter of intent builds on a successful relationship that resulted in what the companies said is the largest school bus fleet order in North America to date, a 326-bus order approved by Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland in February 2021. In Iowa, Thomas buses are sold by Truck Center Cos., an Omaha-based family-owned dealer. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, provides $5 billion over the next five fiscal years through the Clean Bus Program, to assist districts in replacing diesel buses with alternative fuel or electric school buses.