NGT News
March 1, 2021
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, has joined Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., and Reps. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., and Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., to introduce the Clean School Bus Act.Â
The legislation would provide $1 billion for grants to help school districts across the country replace traditional school buses with electric units. By reducing studentsâ exposure to diesel exhaust, the bill would significantly reduce studentsâ risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses and provide long-term savings to school districts.Â
âAs we work to ensure a brighter future for children in Washington state and across the country, itâs crucial for both the health of our students and the future of our planet that we invest in zero-emission transportation,â says Murray. âThis legislation is good for the health of our students, our economy and our planet – and I look for
It will take a long time to electrify the nation’s bus fleet. But a new study says the right mix of financing measures and government subsidies could supercharge the nation’s school bus fleet within the decade.
school bus fleet within the decade.
As the logistical challenges of electrifying the nation’s city bus fleets continues to stymie transit agencies, a the new U.S. Public Interest Research Group report reveals that the electric school transportation vehicles, with their comparatively simple schedules and routes, are actually “ready to roll” right now if districts can just solve the problem of how to pay for what would be a game-changer for our national climate outlook.
By some measures, the school bus industry actually represents the largest mass transit program in the U.S., boasting 480,000 vehicles that are responsible for 10 billion students trips every single year. (By contrast, Americans take about 9.9 billion trips per year on the grown-up public transportation system, but that includes