By james art Durham Public Schools will soon get 38 new electric school buses, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced at a news conference Wednesday.
This is the latest investment by the EPA in North Carolina, which received $70 million in federal dollars in 32 school districts across the state to replace more than 230 conventionally fueled school buses.
The EPA has $5 billion to spend on electrifying school buses across the country over the next five years, Regan said. Millions of children ride buses between their neighborhoods and school every day.
Buses that run on electricity or other types of clean energy would emit fewer air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and soot.
On the other hand, traditional vehicles that transport students to and from school can sometimes cause respiratory distress or asthma or emit toxic pollutants into the air that affect children as well as neighborhood communities.
“That means cleaner air. This means healthier children. That means healthier communities,” Regan said.
Electric buses have generally received a positive response from drivers, parents, teachers and other community members, according to Zealan Hoover, senior adviser to the EPA administrator and director of enforcement.
He said the clean buses could replace about 95 percent of school buses in the country, including in rural and remote areas. The five percent of buses that run longer routes that would require a refueling stop are probably not suitable in the near future.
While electric buses produce fewer emissions than their diesel counterparts, traditional gas school buses still emit fewer pollutants per passenger than cars.
“We have an incredible opportunity to be the nation’s premier bus transformation agency,” Hoover told NC Newsline.
Durham Public Schools received a $15 million grant to implement electric buses and infrastructure from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program awards.
This is the largest share of federal funding for North Carolina. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Cherokee Central Schools, Kannapolis City Schools and Durham Charter Schools also received electric buses, NC Newsline previously reported.
“Durham has deep roots in environmental stewardship, and this is yet another example of the importance of this moment in furthering that legacy,” said Durham Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Lewis.