Why Should School Buses Go Electric?

US Senate auguste. While the bill has not yet been passed into law, and many in the sustainable transportation community are already excited about what this bill could mean for the possibility of electrifying more of the US's fleet of four hundred and eighty thousand school buses, and how that

could help lower emissions and improve air quality. Of the one point to trillion dollar infrastructure bill, two point five billion is earmarked for zero emissions buses, enough for roughly eleven thousand electric vehicles, and another two point five billion for low emission buses, which could be fueled by natural

gas or propane. While this may seem like a lot of money, it's significantly less than what President Joe Biden initially proposed in March of this year, which was a hundred and seventy four billion dollar lump sum to boost the electric vehicle market, including nine thousand school buses instead of the eleven thousand that the bill would now cover. So why school buses? There are a lot of reasons it makes sense for school buses to go electric. First, most new electric buses have a range of up to

a hundred and twenty miles. That's a hundred nine KOs on a single charge, which is plenty far enough for the average school bus route on. Second, some charging systems can charge a bus in just ninety minutes. Plus, Electric buses also require a lot less maintenance than their diesel counterparts, but it's also simple numbers. School buses currently make up around of the buses on the roads in the US, and those run on high polluting diesel fuel the right now,

less than one percent are electric. For context, the entire US transit fleet has around four and eighty thousand school buses and just seventy public transportation buses. That's less than fift percent of the number of school buses. For the article, this episode is based on how Stuff Works. Spoke with Lauren Justice, development director at the Center for Transportation and the Environment. She said transportation is the largest contributor to

greenhouse gas emissions in the US. The medium and heavy duty sector produces more than percent of these emissions, despite comprising less than five percent of vehicles on the road. If the entire school bus fleet were electrified, greenhouse gas emissions from all buses in the US would be reduced by around fifty Along with the issue of adding greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thus increasing global warming and its associated risks, these emissions are also harmful for the twenty

million school children who ride these buses to school. Not only are these buses emitting in the neighborhoods through which they drive, but the pollution inside the bus can actually be up to twelve times higher than ambient levels. In addition,

it's an issue of equity. According to the World Resources Institute, students from low income communities are particularly exposed to this toxic pollution, and some sixty percent of students from low income families use buses to get to and from school, compared with forty five percent of students from higher income families, an issue that's exacerbated in communities of color due to America's history of racist economic policies in both the government

and private sector that concentrated those communities closer to highways and policies from zoning, to housing, to lending to the very construction of our highway system. And Justice said switching from diesel powered school buses to electric could avoid an average a five point three million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year and over seven hundred thousand pounds that's three hundred thousand kilos of ep A criteria pollutants admitted

near children. So can it be done? Advocates believe it can be, but they say much more money needs to be allocated to the issue, and that the infrastructure bill is definitely not enough on its own. And it's not just about money. There also need to be plans in place to help school districts through the transition to electric buses, and Justice said the critical piece that any successful plan must include is an avenue for school districts to receive

technical assistance. While most school buses are still diesel powered, some districts have been adding electric buses to their fleets. In Maryland, for example, the Montgomery County Public School System has plans to get three hundred and twenty six electric school buses over the next four years. This is the largest commitment by any single school district today. Thirty three

states have electric school buses announced, procured, delivered, or in operation. However, as previously mentioned, the is inequality baked into the system, and that's just as true for which areas will get more electric school buses more quickly. Already, the largest share thirty percent of school districts with at least one electric school bus, are in suburban areas, which tend to be wealthier.

In addition, about sixty of all committed future electric buses are in suburban areas, versus just percent in cities, seven percent in towns, and six percent in rural areas. Along with the infrastructure bill, there are numerous other programs and political initiatives to electrify the nation's school buses. In February of this year, the Clean school Bus Act was reintroduced in the US Senate and the House of Representatives. This act would establish a Clean school Bus Grant program to

award grants to replace existing school buses with electric ones. However, as of now, the bill is stalled in subcommittee. Meanwhile, the Federal Transit Authorities Low or No Emission Vehicle Program allocates roughly two million dollars in funding for low and no emissions buses and the facilities that support them. Its goal is to support the Infrastructure Bill to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions by by the end of the decade. And speaking of funding, electric school buses do cost more than diesel powered, but they can lead to long term savings for school districts who purchase them. For several reasons, electricity is typically less expensive than diesel fuel, and as said above, electric buses require less maintenance. Plus, if the districts equip their schools with vehicle to grid technology, they can both draw energy from and return it to the electrical grid.

A While Justice and other clean transportation advocates are pleased to the Infrastructure Bill and local governments are addressing this problem, they know that there's still a long way to go when it comes to electrifying school buses in the United States. Today's episode is based on the article why you want your kids school bus to be Electric on how stuff Works dot com, written by Stephanie Parker. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works

dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clay. Four more podcasts from my Heart Radio visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,