Electric School Buses To Hit NYC Streets Next Year

NEW YORK — These buses will have a green tint. New York City's first electric school buses are set to hit the road next year under a new pilot program, officials say.

The Department of Education plans to roll out as many as four electric-powered buses by the fall of 2019 thanks to $1.25 million in city funding secured by City Councilman Rafael Espinal (D-Brooklyn). The greener vehicles will replace gas-powered buses, according to the New York Daily News, which first reported the plans on Friday.

"This is an important next step in the DOE’s proactive approach to environmental impact and air quality, and every bus currently meets emission standards," department spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said in a statement to Patch on Monday.

News of the pilot program comes as the City Council considers a bill that would require the DOE to start phasing in electric buses with the goal of having an all-electric fleet by 2040.

The program will let the DOE prove the electric buses' functionality, identify maintenance issues, get feedback from drivers and make a recommendation if it decides to "consider a larger-scale investment in the future," said Alexandra Robinson, the executive director of the DOE's Office of Pupil Transportation.

"Any new technology requires testing, and our pilot will do just that," Robinson told Council members Monday.

The DOE says it has contracts for about 9,000 buses that serve about 150,000 students. The 10,350 buses used in 2017 would emit close to 14,000 tons of greenhouse gases on average each year, according to an estimate by the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.

The city isn't the first jurisdiction to give electric buses a try. Five of them hit the road in Westchester County's White Plains this fall, supported by a partnership between Con Edison and the firm that operates the buses, according to The New York Times.

It could be tough to scale up the use of electric buses, Robinson said, as the equipment and batteries they use cost about four times as much as a "comparable" clean-burning diesel bus.

But lawmakers argued there's a health imperative for moving to an electric fleet.

"In order to see a healthier generation of children we have to start with reducing the emissions they come into contact with most frequently," Espinal said. "Whether it’s waiting in line to board the bus or riding with the window open in the summer, there’s no doubt that pollution is streaming out of the school buses and traveling right into the lungs of our children every single day."

(Lead image: Photo from Shutterstock)