Maya McFadden file photo
Time for cleaner buses.
Every single school day, New Haven’s 314 school buses spew out pollution fouling our air, increase the risk of asthma and even cancer to students and drivers, and exacerbate global warming.
Federal, Connecticut, City of New Haven and New Haven Board of Education policies all say this should be fixed. Right now, New Haven has an extraordinary opportunity to move rapidly towards a solution, but action by a slim majority of New Haven’s Board of Education leadership may cause us to miss the bus. We hope New Haven is able to pull together and get onboard.
For over 20 years, the dangers of diesel school bus exhaust to the children and young adults riding in them have been well documented, including in a follow-up study of Connecticut school bus riders by a Yale researcher. Diesel exhaust spews fine particles and nitrogen oxides (NOx), including dozens of carcinogens, exacerbating asthma and contributing to other respiratory diseases, with school age children among those most at risk. In addition to these health risks, U.S. diesel CO2 emissions equal 26 percent of our transportation sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Fortunately, school buses are at the leading edge of the transition to smarter, cleaner vehicles to move us and our goods around without these problems. The EPA’s Clean School Bus program is subsidizing communities around the country with $5 billion dollars to replace these dirty diesel buses with electric zero-emission school buses, with State of Connecticut funds expected to follow. These zero-tailpipe emissions buses are noticeably quieter inside and out with a smooth, “glass-like” ride.
The deadline for submitting an application for the current round of EPA funding is this Aug. 22. Funding is available to replace up to 50 of New Haven’s buses and pay for their charging infrastructure. As a prioritized school district, New Haven can receive up to $395,000 per bus, the high end of the cost of an electric school bus. (Added funding is available from an Inflation Reduction Act tax credit while vehicle-to-grid possibilities could provide even more environmental, economic, and resiliency benefits.) New Haven, because of our poor air quality and poverty rate, automatically qualifies for 30 of a 120 point competitive scale, and is eligible for enhanced funding. Application can be made by the New Haven Board of Education or First Student, our school bus contractor. Notification is expected by early 2024 with funds flowing in the spring.
Staff at the Board of Education laid the groundwork for pursuit of these funds this spring. In what was, effectively, a bid for a five-year contract, they called for the option of electric vehicles in the second year, allowing for either the city or its contractor to own the buses, and providing for negotiations over charging infrastructure, changes in fuel costs, and federal rules regarding diesel bus replacement. This language anticipated the requirements of federal and state funds.
After a competitive bidding process, Board staff proposed to award the full five-year school bus contract to the incumbent provider, First Student, but at a discombobulated meeting of the Board (see “Ed Board Vote Leaves Bus Deal in Limbo”), the Board ended up directing staff to extend its current First Student contract for an additional year and reopen the bidding process.
One board member referred to this as “creating chaos,” and New Haven’s Board of Alders “reluctantly” passed it. It was yet another in a string of actions that had caused New Haven Climate Movement leaders to give the Board a C grade in May of this year for its “difficulty focusing” on clean transportation work. And another failure to protect New Haven’s young people, especially those in environmental justice communities, who are harmed most by our climate crisis. But all is not lost: it’s not too late to move from rhetoric to action.
We call on the elected and appointed members of the New Haven Board not to let this opportunity slip through its fingers, to empower and support its staff to pursue this Clean School Bus funding, including working collaboratively with First Student. Federal grants are difficult to apply for and time is short. Despite only having a one year contract, we would hope First Student would be willing to support New Haven here. The company was recognized by the White House for its “industry-leading efforts” on school bus electrification, and offers its expertise to school districts.
The New Haven Climate Movement and Greater New Haven Clean Cities are eager to roll up our sleeves and join with the New Haven Board of Education in bringing clean school buses to our community. Along with free CT Transit bus passes and “safe routes to school” programs, the time is now to get rid of our diesel school buses.
For more information on school bus electrification, see the World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative and the Electrification Coalition’s Electric School Buses.
This piece was informed and inspired by the young leaders of the New Haven Climate Movement.
For more information on school bus electrification, see the World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative and the Electrification Coalition’s Electric School Buses.
Paul Wessel is the coordinator of the Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition, an organization dedicated to improving air quality, supporting economic development, increasing energy security, and reducing dependence on petroleum.
Cleaning up school buses is great, and I fully endorse Paul’s efforts. But cleaning up CT Transit buses would be even better. School buses typically make a couple runs in the morning and a couple in the afternoon on school days. They operate infrequently during weekends and the summer. Transit buses are used much more intensively, year-round. And the CT Transit routes are concentrated in lower income neighborhoods, which have the highest rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Picking up on Paul’s argument, there is a ton of money for sustainability measures in the Inflation Reduction Act, Steve Winter and other relevant city officials are actively going after pots of this funding. But the Board of Alders and Board of Education should ensure that the city maximizes its efforts to get as much funding as possible.