NJ Sierra Club Initiates Campaign for Electric School Buses

The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club is announcing a campaign to promote electric school buses. At its state meeting on Saturday, August 11^th, the Executive Committee of the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club passed a resolution in strong support of the campaign.

“The NJ Sierra Club Chapter has recently formed a Transportation Committee to follow through on this effort to promote electric school buses and meet with members of the Legislature. This campaign would help us make progress in reducing greenhouse gasses and creating cleaner air for communities, and especially children, to breathe,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

The resolution passed by the Club is based in the following:

-Modern, battery-powered electric school buses do not emit harmful toxic pollutants, thereby protecting children’s health by reducing their exposure to harmful air pollutants as they board and ride school buses, and also improving local air quality for all community members;

-Over the life cycle of electric school buses, the buses will cost less to own and operate than diesel or CNG school buses, thereby saving New Jersey taxpayers money; and

-Electric school buses will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming, especially if there is sufficient renewable energy to charge them.

The Sierra Club is strongly supporting legislation to advance electric school buses. This includes A3830 (Pinkin) / S2436 (Diegnan), calling for a pilot program for three school districts in the State to initiate an electric school bus program.  The three districts will be selected from each of three areas, the north, south and central parts of the State. The funds for the program are to come from the Board of Public Utilities Societal Benefits Program, the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund, and/or other available funds.

“It is our hope that the Legislature will hold hearings on the bills this Fall,” said Bill Beren, Chair of the Transportation Committee.

The New Jersey Chapter also supports S723 (Greenstein) and S721 (Greenstein), both of which authorize using electric busses and increases the permitted width of school buses from 96 to 102 inches.

“We are optimistic about the bills becoming law because they can improve the health of our children,” said NJ Chapter Clean Air Issues Coordinator Paul Ehrlich.

Since becoming Governor, Phil Murphy has said he intends to resume New Jersey’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). In addition, a number of New Jersey municipalities also have indicated they intend to comply with the terms of the Paris Climate Accord, despite President Trump removing us from this worldwide agreement. Electric school buses will help municipalities and the state as a whole reduce our carbon footprint and produce less greenhouse gasses.

The New Jersey Sierra Club has put together additional programmatic details to expand on the importance of this effort. These include:

Health Benefits

• Children are especially susceptible to the adverse health effects of diesel

exhaust pollutants and there is no safe level of exposure for school age

children.

• Levels of these air pollutants are higher inside school buses than in the

ambient air nearby.

• When school buses are idling the levels of air pollutants inside the bus are

higher than when it is in motion; in addition, children waiting to board idling

buses are exposed to high levels of pollution and even higher levels if

several buses are in the same immediate area.

• The existing fleet of diesel school buses in NJ includes many vehicles that do

not meet current clean air standards for diesel exhaust, which were last set in 2007.

Environmental Benefits

• Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions of Nitrogen Oxides, Particulate

Matter, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrocarbons.

• Electric vehicles are environmentally cleaner and safer than other propulsion

options such as CNG or electric/diesel hybrids.

• Replacing America’s diesel school bus fleets with electric will have a

significantly higher impact on overall air quality and global warming than

replacing diesel transit buses; one study estimated that school buses emit

5.3 million tons of greenhouse gases each year, compared to 2 million tons for transit buses.

• Fuel efficiency for a 40-50 student capacity fully electric school bus is 17 mpg

equivalent, compared to 7 mpg for a diesel powered bus and 9 mpg for a

hybrid electric.

• By taking diesel school buses off the road, pollution from leaking fuel tanks, both from the buses and depot storage, will be eliminated.
• The use of renewable energy sources (i.e. solar or wind) to power electric

vehicles will further reduce pollution from utility owned power plants that

burn fossil fuel.

Cost Benefits

• Lifetime cost of ownership for an electric school bus is estimated to be

cheaper than current diesel powered buses.  This is due to the significantly lower cost of fuel and maintenance costs, thereby offsetting the higher initial purchase price.

• Electric vehicles do not need oil changes or emissions testing, there are

fewer parts to break down, and there is less wear and tear on the braking

system,

• A pilot project is needed to test how electric school buses perform in NJ prior

to making a major commitment to any one vendor.  Experience in other states has shown that bus operating performance varies widely, and the number of miles a bus can get on a single charge depends on factors such as weather conditions, the type of terrain the bus is operating on, bus operator training, and regular maintenance.

• Subsidies will be needed to help communities offset the significantly higher

upfront purchase costs of electric school buses until such time that

economies of scale associated with mass production will reduce

manufacturing costs.

• Operation cost savings may allow communities to reallocate school funds to

higher priority areas.

• The cost of electric power is more stable than diesel or gas fuel, making it

easier for school boards to budget expenses over time.

• Electric school buses powered by renewable energy sources may be able to

generate revenue by selling excess electricity back to the grid.

Funding Sources

• VW Mitigation Trust and BPU funds may be allocated toward bus purchases.
• Private sector funding options may be available from utility companies and

manufacturers.

Timely Replacements of Obsolete School Buses

• Many school buses predate the EPA’s 2007 diesel emission standards and

are at the end of their economic life cycle.

• Taxpayers in districts participating in the pilot project will avoid considerable

replacement costs as well as receiving a much superior school bus.

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