NYC School Buses to Go Electric: Phasing in 75 Electric Buses in Next Two Years

 By Yehudit Garmaise

   Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning that by 2030, New York City’s public school bus company, NYC Bus, will be using only electric buses.

   Starting immediately, the mayor said, the city will begin to phase in 75 electric school buses in the next two years.

   “We are doubling down in every way on reducing emissions and reducing pollution from the city fleet,” said Mayor de Blasio, who signed an executive order last year for the city to convert its schools buses to an all-electric fleet by 2040, but he has now accelerated that timeline.

   “We need to prepare for future, get off fossil fuels, and turn all of the approaches that will help us to be greener all the time:  That means zero-emission vehicles,” the mayor said.

   While the mayor emphasized the city’s race to in the fight against climate change, Councilman Daniel Dromm emphasized how electric buses will be better for the health of New Yorkers: young and old.

   “The more immediate impact of the greening of our vehicles is the reduction of the city’s dirty buses and the noxious fumes they spew,” said Councilman Dromm, who mentioned that city residents and children, unfortunately, report troubled breathing inside and around school buses.

   In addition to protecting the environment, electric buses will result in healthier kids and less asthma, the mayor said.   “We have to protect those who are so precious to us,” Mayor de Blasio said.

   In addition to the addition of electric buses in the city, as more New Yorkers switch to electric cars, in the future, the mayor promised the addition of more electric charging stations in parking lots and garages around the city.

   “New parking spots have to come with electric chargers,” said the mayor, who later said that he would not be using a car at all after he leaves office in November.

   Walking, biking, and driving Zipcars, the mayor said, should be New Yorkers' modes of transportation, in the future.

Photo credit: Tomash Devenishek/Flickr (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)