Electric School Bus

Electric School Bus Campaign

Mothers Out Front is on a mission to transition all of the diesel school buses in the United States to electric. Electric School Buses are better for our kids’ health, with no tailpipe emissions polluting our air and harming their growing lungs. ESBs are also better for our kids’ future. By reducing fossil fuel use they are a great way to reduce carbon emissions and help ensure a livable climate for all children.

With about 450,000 school buses on the road during the school year, they are the country’s largest mass transit system. An unprecedented amount of federal funding is available to help the transition, making electric school buses a unique opportunity to update school bus fleets, reduce carbon emissions, and improve kids’ health outcomes; a true win-win for all.

Diesel School Buses are harmful for our children!

24 million school children travel on 454,000 school buses nationwide. About 90 percent of these buses run on diesel fuel annually emitting:

3,000 tons of cancer-causing soot
95,000 tons of smog-causing compounds

Children riding on diesel school buses are exposed to 5 to 15 times more air toxins than the rest of the population

Childhood exposure from diesel soot emitted by school buses has also been associated with:

reduced lung function
increased incidences of pneumonia

The Natural Resources Defense Council has estimated that school bus diesel exposures to children pose as much as 23 to 46 times the cancer risk considered significant under federal law.

It’s time to switch to Electric School Buses!

Cleaner air: Electrifying buses can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 40% because they have no exhaust
Safer: better handling, responsiveness, and ride comfort and less likely to roll over due to lower center of gravity.
Low maintenance costs (up to 70% less than diesel!). Diesel buses break down more frequently and are more costly to repair.
Longer lifespan (12-16 years) than diesel
Predictable charging fees cut fuel costs by approximately 80%
As clean as the source of electricity used to charge them

Resources

As moms, we are in the perfect position to advocate for our children’s right to a clean ride to school. We know the diesel emissions we see coming out of the school bus are concentrated up to 10x inside, exposing our kids to a higher risk for asthma, cognitive impairment, and even cancer. We can be the messenger for a better way for our schools.

This ESB toolkit will help you get started on your journey to ESB advocacy, but we are also here for you. Just drop us a note any time with questions and we’ll reach out with help!

Contact: bobby.monacella@mothersoutfront.org