25 million students travel to and from school every day in a school bus, making it the most used form of mass transit in the United States. Thanks to $6 million in grant funding and rebates, students in Tucson Unified will soon be traveling to school in buses that are better for the environment, healthier for the community and cost-saving for the district.
With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Program is providing $5 billion over five years (FY 2022-2026) to replace existing diesel-powered school buses with zero-emission and clean school buses. Tucson Unified is one of 11 districts in Arizona receiving funding from the EPA, that, along with the district’s partnership with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and Schneider Electric, will pay for 10 electric school buses, as well as EV chargers and charging stations and the necessary infrastructure to support the new buses.
In a press conference with the EPA and TEP on November 15, TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo talked about how the EV bus pilot program fulfills the district’s commitment to the City of Tucson and Pima County as one of region’s largest employers to lessen our environmental footprint and continue to be responsible stewards of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem.
“This is our first step towards the vision of a fully electrified fleet of school buses in the state of Arizona over the next couple of decades, that starts with the first 10,” Dr. Trujillo said.
According to the EPA, only one in 10 school buses on the road right now is a clean school bus. Most run on diesel, which puts pollutants into the environment that contribute to climate change and put the health of everyone in the community at risk. Replacing 10 diesel buses with electric buses will eliminate 17,000 tons of carbon dioxide over the 12-year lifespan of these vehicles. That’s the equivalent of taking 270 cars off the road in the road in that same period.
“We’re transforming school bus fleets nationwide, making clean, zero emission school buses the new American standard, and we’re making sure the resources are getting to the communities that need it the most, the ones that are ready,” said Kevin Gong, Staff Director for the Regional Administrator of the Pacific Southwest Region for the EPA.
As the largest school district in southern Arizona, Tucson Unified transports over 20,000 students every school day, making it an ideal district to pilot the Clean School Bus Program. And the district’s partnership with TEP and Schneider Electric will help TUSD reduce its transportation maintenance costs. “We hope to set a precedent for how utilities and schools can partner to drive innovation for our future,” said Dallas Dukes, Vice President of Customer Experience, Programs and Pricing for TEP.
The electric school buses will also benefit students. Clean school buses eliminate exhaust, which is linked to asthma; reduce air pollution, which can harm children’s developing lungs; and provide a quieter ride.
Tucson Unified Launches EV Bus Pilot Program
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