Electric school buses gain popularity, cut emissions
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- I was not one of the children who rode the bus to grammar school back in the 50s and 60s. I only lived a few blocks from Amherst Avenue School in Margate, NJ (soon to be Eugene A Tighe School) so it was a daily walk with my friends.
It wasn't until my family and I moved to the Philadelphia suburbs that I rode the bus to Abington High School. It was okay, although I will admit the Blue Bird bus we rode on provided a bumpy ride and was a bit loud.
It's different for some children today as they get to ride in new fancy buses that run on electricity. According to our partners at Climate Central, electric school buses are becoming more numerous. Just like their automobile counterparts, they provide a cleaner alternative to diesel buses.
The problem that emissions from diesel engines pose is more than just warming the planet. Air quality has worsened and health can be harmed.
Statistics show that nearly 500,000 school buses transport 24,000,000 students in Kindergarten to 12th grade to and from school every day. Climate Central's report shows that more than 450,000 of those buses run on diesel. This fossil fuel could be putting a child's health at risk.
The United States fleet of electric school buses has grown "to include 12,174 committed electric school buses". Most of these are in the South and the West. These two regions account for 64% of the national total of committed electric school buses.
What is a committed electric school bus? It's a bus that has been awarded, ordered, delivered, or is currently in operation. The numbers are tracked by the World Resource Institute. Their accounting shows more than 234,000 students currently ride on these buses.
Based on the map above it appears the states with the most students riding electric buses are California, Florida, Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Among the states using the most electric buses are (in no apparent order) California, Illinois, and New York.
What about Texas? Environment Texas reported in mid-September that four school districts account for just under 25% of the electric buses, operated or committed. At the top of that list? Austin. AISD has a total of 28 of these buses. The total of 100 (out of 424) includes Killeen ISD and Socorro ISD (El Paso area) with 25 each and Abilene-Wylie ISD with 22.
The other positives to these buses are lower fuel costs, reduced maintenance, and regenerative braking. The buses can recover energy during braking. This helps reduce energy consumption.
But, there are other aspects that need to be considered. First, these buses could have a higher upfront cost due to the initial price being higher than that of a diesel. The other cost factor, of course, is the additional investment in charging stations.
It looks like these committed electric buses may be the way school districts decide to go in the future.