Clean School Buses: Going to School to be Much Safer

The number of schools has increased massively in the past few years in America, and school buses can be seen almost everywhere on the roads.

Around 25 million American children travel every day in school buses. School buses have been the safest mode of transportation to and from school for many years. In America, school buses travel over 4 billion miles every year.

For the past few years school buses have been running on fuel(diesel) and the exhaust fumes from these buses comprise PM, NO, and greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses. These emitted gasses have harmful effects on human health, especially for children who have a faster breathing rate as their lungs are not fully developed. This also impacts our environment to bring about climate change, temperature rise, and many other problems.

As a solution, the US is now focusing on the Clean School Buses program designed to help communities reduce emissions from older diesel school buses. School districts, fleet owners and operators, bus drivers, parents, and students will all have important roles to play in helping to reduce diesel emissions from school buses.

EPA’s new Clean School Bus Program provides $5 billion over the next five years to replace existing school buses with electric and low-emission models,

enabled with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Benefits of Electric School Buses

• Less exposure to harmful diesel emissions like PM and NOX. Students, drivers, and members of the community will be more safeguarded.

  
  

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional school buses using diesel as fuel.

  
  

• Reduced/Nil maintenance costs of the engine or exhaust system.

  
  

• Less wear and tear of the brakes as regenerative braking is implemented.

  
  

• Potential for reduced fuel costs compared to diesel, subject to electricity costs.

  
  

• Quiet, clean operation and zero pollution.

  
  

• Opportunity for fleets to partner with local utilities to funnel power back into the grid when buses are not in use and electricity demand is high.

Of the above two ways of transitioning to the Clean School Buses program, there are many benefits however, many developments also need to be made for electric school buses. The price for establishing charging units, changes in the infrastructure, and the use of electricity will be high but it is well worth it.

FORCE is an energy-saving device of ENPOSS that can be installed in every facility where electricity is in use to reduce the loss of electricity and reduce electricity utility bills. FORCE can be installed in schools where Electric School buses charge and the transport fleet can be rendered more productive.