Phoenix Union High School District Unveils New Electric Bus

Phoenix AZ

20 November, 2021

12:19 AM

Description

Community leaders Thursday held a press conference with the American Lung Association, unveiling a new zero-emission electric school bus that will address the disproportionate effects of diesel exhaust on minority youths. The bus shown off at Cesar Chavez High is the fourth of its kind in Phoenix Union High School District's fleet of 80 traditional diesel-fueled buses, with the plan being to eventually replace every bus in the district with the brand-new electric ones, according to Phoenix Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Chad Gestson. "Phoenix joined more than 1000 cities from across the world in setting a net-zero 2050 target," said Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari of district 7, who serves on the mayor's Electric-Vehicle Ad-Hoc Committee. "This is a good start, but it's critical that we go further and faster together. We know that our transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Phoenix, and as we know, air pollution is deadly. " Diesel-fueled school buses emit large amounts of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter into our atmosphere, which can cause asthma, respiratory illness, and, potentially, cancer. About 25 million children ride school buses in the United States, spending a combined 3 billion hours on school buses each year, which exposes them to harmful diesel exhaust, according to a study by Yale university. Of those 25 million children riding buses, 300,000 are in Arizona, and a bit over half of those are Latino or black, according to cleanride4kids.org. "As someone who has asthma, air quality affects me every day. And so, this is one way that we can transition to a healthier, breathable air quality," said Councilwoman Laura Pastor of district 4, who serves on the Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning subcommittee. Ansari also shared that Phoenix approved a $25 million pilot program for electric-vehicle bus testing for the Spring that will utilize federal funding, something crucial as well to Phoenix Union School District's plans to go all-electric. "Why we're here today... We want to do all we can to secure as many of these federal stimulus dollars as possible to expand the fleet here in Phoenix Union," Gestson said. The price tag for the electric bus ranges from $100,000 to $400,000, according to organizers of the event, with even more funds required for proper infrastructure such as recharging stations. Still, Geston says that the investment makes sense in the long term. According to cleanrides4kids.org, "while zero-emissions buses may cost more up front, they cost 30 percent less to maintain than their diesel counterparts, and they reduce greenhouse emissions by almost 80 percent." JoAnna Strother, Senior Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association in Arizona, shared the belief that every student should be able to ride the bus without exposing themselves to pollution. "The impact of emissions from school buses are especially profound in our Black and Latino communities who are exposed disproportionately to high levels of particle pollution, as well as children from low-income communities, who are more likely to depend on a school bus to get to school" said Strother. "Investing in a healthier future for Arizona children is not only the right thing to do, it's also overwhelmingly popular with Arizona voters." Sources: Cleanrides4kids fact sheet: https://cleanride4kids.org/blog/resource/arizona-state-fact-sheet/ Yale Study: http://www.lcvoters.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Childrens-Exposure-to-Diesel-exhaust-on-School-Buses_.pdf Phoenix Union High School District Homepage: https://www.pxu.org/ American Lung Association: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanLungAZ/?hc_ref=ARSWaa6zm6aC1BetJIeBz_ZNUlPopiyqs4M5gd5vo0rho5NED0rm_jPIsHQZ6g-tV3g&fref=nf&__tn__=kC-R, (602) 258-7505 Yassamin Ansari: 602-262-7492, [email protected] Laura Pastor: [email protected]. Dr. Chad Gestson: https://twitter.com/chadgestson, https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-gestson-512735102 JoAnna Strother: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-strother-6828b413, https://twitter.com/JoAnnaStrother?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor