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In this article by School Bus Fleet you'll learn how we've helped Steelton-Highspire School District and Billings Public Schools reduce school bus emissions to improve student health with the deployment of electric school buses. We currently operate over 350 zero-emission buses that have driven more than 3.5 million miles and we're not stopping. Click below and find out more about the benefits of operating electric school buses. #EV #electricschoolbus #goyellowgogreen #focusonsafety #caringforstudents

I recently got to write about one of my favorite subjects for Yale Environment 360: the rise of electric school buses across the US. I've spent years reporting on the health effects of particulate matter, so I didn't need more evidence of the dangers of filtering soot through kids' lungs, from asthma attacks to lasting cognitive damage. The urgency of providing cleaner, safer ways to get millions of students to school every day at this point speaks for itself. As Kim Raney of the Oakland Unified School District, which recently became the first large urban district to electrify its entire fleet, told me: "We could have just checked the box on sustainability, and grab a couple of electric buses. But how do I choose which students get those buses? This isn’t fair, your kid has to ride on the (diesel) bus that’s gonna make him sick? ... There was no discussion about being a pioneer or anything like that. It was just doing what’s right for kids. I hope all school districts follow suit, because it’s the right thing to do for our kids." But I learned a lot about HOW to get that done from my conversations with school transportation officials and electrification advocates and executives at firms like Highland Fleets that are trying to lower the financial hurdles for districts to adopt electric buses. My piece takes a look at what it will take to accelerate this clean bus transition and ensure it reaches communities with the greatest need:

#Electric school buses aren’t the only focus of the California Air Resources Board when it comes to getting students to and from class. CARB announced Thursday it awarded $33 million to seven low-income communities to fund zero-emissions transportation and mobility options that can benefit schoolchildren. Electric school buses aren’t a part of any project, although the City of El Monte near Los Angeles is receiving over $6.5 million to purchase four electric shuttle buses to transport students and a charging station as well as to provide driver training. Instead, the #CleanMobility in Schools and #Sustainable #Transportation Equity Project mostly targets #electriccar and #bikesharing, and other bicycle and pedestrian programs such as Safe Routes to School. Sacramento City Unified School District will use a $500,000 grant to conduct a needs assessment for its Safe Routes to School for All program. The project will include walking audits of 15 schools to assess transportation and safety barriers, as well as plan outreach and education events. “Planning for a zero-emission future means helping Californians access essential everyday needs with clean and shared transportation options while reducing reliance on personal vehicles,” said CARB Liane Randolph in a statement. “Through these clean mobility grants, we are helping communities bring their transportation ideas to fruition and addressing historic inequities in places that have been underserved by mobility options.” Other winners are the cities of Hayward, Needles, #SanDiego, and several cities in the San Joaquin Valley. The funding is part of the $48 billion California Climate Commitment, which includes over $10 billion to accelerate the ZEV transition and build charging infrastructure. Funding also comes from California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative using billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars. So far, CARB says has allocated $265 million statewide to purchase electric school buses. From School Transportation News by Ryan Gray

The EPA announced nearly $900 million for school districts to replace polluting diesel buses with clean, electric ones. Over 90% of the 3,400+ new buses will be battery-powered. This is a huge step towards a greener future. Diesel exhaust is linked to health issues in young students, especially those in disadvantaged communities. Electric buses will also cut greenhouse gases, help fight climate change, and save districts money on fuel and maintenance. They'll boost demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, creating good jobs. onCORE is actively working with Electric Fleet Charging Station developers to build out an infrastructure of the future. We believe the future is bright for electrification. *** Continue reading it here: https://lnkd.in/eb6ajQp2

ICYMI: Read our recently published op-ed in The Buffalo News on why propane should be a part of New York’s EV school bus transition.   Implementing propane buses will: ✅Provide increased reliability and uptime, especially in extreme weather conditions. ✅Dramatically reduce nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide, which can lead to respiratory problems. ✅Reduce costs. school districts can purchase three propane buses for every one electric bus. Read more 🔽

School buses are getting cleaner in #Washington state after this year's legislative session. Lawmakers in #Olympia passed House Bill 1368, which will fund the purchase of zero emission school buses. Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, said the program is getting off the ground quickly. "As we work towards that long-term goal of all new school buses being zero emission, we're kick-starting this year with $40 million in grants to school districts in overburdened communities," Senn explained. Going forward, Senn noted school districts will have to purchase zero-emission vehicles once the total cost of ownership is equal to or lower than the cost of diesel vehicles. The state is leveraging the state's Climate Commitment Act resources to fund the transition of its 10,000 school buses. Devin Denney, director of transportation for Highline Public Schools in King County, which already has electric school buses in its fleet, said he has driven the electric buses and talked about some of their benefits from a driver's perspective. "You're not competing against that engine noise, the kids aren't competing against the engine noise," Denney observed. "It's a much quieter bus all the way around. The major advantage, of course, is that there's no tailpipe emissions with an electric bus, so our kids' health is better protected." Senn emphasized health studies have shown there are negative health effects from diesel vehicles for kids, and it is easy to understand why. "If you think about kids waiting to get on their bus in front of an elementary school and you have this line of buses idling, letting out diesel fumes right at the height of a little child, it becomes obvious that this is probably not the most healthy thing for our children," Senn added.

Transitioning to electric school buses reduces school transportation costs considerably while improving student health outcomes. Dive in to the costs, advantages, and trends in electric school buses across the U.S.

Diesel school buses contribute to air pollution and disproportionately harm low-income communities. Electrifying buses not only cuts emissions but also improves public health, especially for children and provides a new source of energy storage for communities. Across the country, school districts are committing to electric school bus purchases in 49 states as well as US territories and several tribal nations, with 200,000 students currently being picked up and dropped off by electric school buses. And last week, Oakland CA launched the first all-electric school bus fleet to serve a major school district. The buses also act as giant batteries when they’re not moving--they’re plugged in and supplying enough electricity to the local grid to power about 400 homes:

Heavier busses? More expensive busses? How does this impact improving education? Better make sure all the bridges with load restrictions on bus routes can safely handle heavier busses loaded with students.

The wheels on the bus go round and round ... that part of the equation, as far as I can tell, hasn't changed with respect to school bus locomotion. But little did I know as an Illinois schoolkid in the '90s and early 2000s that one day the loud, yellow school buses I would take to and from school would one day be quiet, battery-powered machines. It would have seemed like something from "The Jetsons" ... well, the future is here. Check out this NBC Chicago piece on the rise of #batteryelectric school buses in several Illinois school districts, aided by federal grant funding. As the articles notes, electric buses generally look similar to their traditional predecessors. In addition to tailpipe emissions, however, there is another major, audible difference. Noise. Those loud, yellow school buses of yore? Replace those with a quiet ride and that's what the students at these districts will be getting. Maybe that quiet will be conducive to a focused environment, especially for procrastinating students speeding through some last-minute homework on their way to school. 📝 🚌 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dfqT8BXV