Trucks Clips: July 29, 2024

 

 

Advocacy

 

All Aboard America’s Electric School Bus Revolution — “For the past few years, hundreds of school districts have been been transforming their school bus fleets into something more environmentally friendly. The most significant contributor to the electric school bus revolution is the investment of $5 billion in clean energy electric school buses allocated through the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act in 2021. This funding is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its clean school bus program. In an interview, the senior legislative and regulatory policy manager at Moms Clean Air Force, Melody Reis said there has been a ‘tremendous amount of enthusiasm’ for the program. Reis quoted figures from the World Resources Institute, which estimate as of December 2023, there are 8,570 committed electric school buses across 1,132 school districts or private fleet operators across the country. … The Moms Clean Air Force national manager for health equity, Almeta Cooper said health statistics show a much higher incidence of asthma among children of color. … The Moms Clean Air Force Pennsylvania field organizer, Vanessa Lynch, said in an interview the district seems to really be connecting with community as good environmental stewards. ‘I do think that this transition makes it easier for people to understand the impacts of clean energy, because it is such an easy thing to agree on,’ said Lynch.” [Forbes, 7/26/24 (+)]

 

 

 

Idaho

 

Boise To Get Moving In 2026 With This Electrified Shift — “Possibly eight new vehicles will be charging into action for the Boise School District in 2026. Thanks to grants totaling $2.76 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, the school district will be adding up to eight electric school buses to its fleet in a pilot program. The district stated that the integration process will take about 18 months to complete from planning to delivery of the big, yellow electric vehicles. The buses should be ready to roll by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year. The buses will be supplied by Highland Electric Fleets and transportation services for the district are provided by Durham School Services. Benefits of the EVs are reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional diesel vehicles, operation is quiet, maintenance costs are reduced and zero tailpipe emissions. ‘We are proud of the national recognition, endorsement and opportunities given to us to continue our pursuit in creating a healthier, sustainable future for our students and community,’ said Ali Ward, the sustainability supervisor with Boise School District. ‘The grant funds will allow us to spearhead our student transportation electrification efforts and continue on our way to becoming an environmentally responsible role model in our community.’” [Idaho Business Review, 7/26/24 (+)]

 

North Carolina

 

Pender County Schools Kills Contract With Duke Energy For Electric School Buses And Charging Stations — “One county school district will not be using electric buses to transport its students any time soon. They’re sticking to fuel for now. The Pender County School Board voted to kill its contract with Duke Energy to provide three electric school buses to the district come November. Board members say although the buses would be free to the district, for the first two years, they say taxpayers would be paying for them after that initial period. Board Member Brent Springer made the motion to pull the plug on electric buses at its July 16 meeting. ‘How much are the charging stations going to be? You don’t know. I don’t know. Nobody knows,’ said Springer. Board member Phil Cordeiro says Duke Energy informally agreed to sell the charging stations for the price of $1, but they say Duke Energy’s attorneys wouldn’t put it in writing. ‘According to the contract, Duke reserved the right to charge the school system whatever amount it wanted to lease and/or buy those charging stations. The deal literally wrote Duke Energy a blank check,’ said Cordeiro.” [WECT-TV, 7/26/24 (-)]

 

Pennsylvania

 

Op-Ed: Electronic Buses Will Help Reduce Costs — According to Amanda-Clearcreek, “Each day in Ohio, almost 860,000 schoolchildren hop on a traditional yellow school bus to start their days. Collectively they travel almost 180 million miles per year. That’s a lot of time to spend in a bus breathing diesel exhaust fumes and hearing the roar of the engine for our kids and bus drivers. That is why the Amanda-Clearcreek Local School District is excited to announce that we will be implementing two electric school buses in our fleet this fall. These buses will replace older buses in our fleet, while helping the environment. They will not only save the district money immediately by eliminating the cost of purchasing two buses with operational funding, but they’ll also save the district money in the long-run on fuel and maintenance costs. It is a true win-win. Amanda-Clearcreek was one of six districts in the state of Ohio to receive rebate dollars through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Program totaling nearly $6 million in awards. Our district was selected to receive $790,000 in funds under this program in 2022 which we have used to purchase two C2 Jouley Electric School Buses and their necessary charging infrastructure. They will be hitting the roads at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.” [Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, 7/27/24 (+)]

 

 

 

Buy Online, Save A Gallon — “The Chamber of Progress is expected to release a new report today that analyzes how online delivery reduces emissions and roadway usage. The analysis factors in how many gallons of gas are used in individual trips to the store and compares that with gas spent on online deliveries. The driving factor (no pun intended) is that a single e-commerce delivery route, on average, serves up to 200 customers per trip — whereas individual trips to the store serve a single household.” [Politico, 7/29/24 (=)]

 

 

 

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