"Essentially, this is a tiny drop in the bucket of what is needed to protect our children from harmful diesel pollution," said DelloIacono. She and other advocates are concerned that the allocation for “low-emissions” school buses in the infrastructure package could prioritize other fuel types over electric technology. “What’s at stake is my children’s future, my children’s health and their ability to live productive, healthy lives.”
#Greenhouse packages spress bus full#
“We need the full funding,” said Sybil Azur, a mom and community organizer who has been working to expand the use of electric school buses in Los Angeles. That plan aimed to electrify 96,000 school buses, or about 20% of the U.S. The lump sum is substantially less than the $174 billion Biden initially proposed last March to boost the overall EV market, including cars, trucks and buses. Another $2.5 billion would go toward what lawmakers and the White House are calling low-emissions buses. "So federal investment is so needed."Įlectric school buses would receive $2.5 billion in funding under the package, enough for approximately 11,000 zero-emissions buses. "Those schools that can afford to make the transition and cover the costs of not just the school bus, but the charging infrastructure that's needed, are in the predominantly wealthier communities," said Trisha DelloIacono, the legislative manager for Moms Clean Air Force. The infrastructure package proposed by the Senate and the White House on Wednesday offers significantly less funding for electric school buses than what President Biden was seeking.Īnd without a federal infusion of cash and incentives, advocates fear zero-emissions school buses-which can cost three times more than those with internal-combustion engines-could be distributed unevenly, potentially leaving behind low-income families and students of color who already bear the brunt of environmental pollution. The school district, which is the second largest in the country, agreed to replace its 1,650 diesel buses with electric ones by 2035. So she teamed up with other moms in Fairfax County, Va., to do something about it.
“They're sitting on the bus for over an hour a day, and when you learn that the emissions are concentrated inside the bus, it’s scary,” said Monacella, who volunteers with the climate advocacy group Mothers out Front. Pollution levels inside those iconic yellow buses can be up to 10 times higher than outside. Bobby Monacella was tired of sending her two kids to school on buses filled with diesel fumes.
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