In September, the AISD board of trustees unanimously approved the resolution to safeguard children from the effects of diesel school bus pollution and save money in the long run.
"The school buses helping our children get safely to school may be painted yellow, but they’ll run green in an electrifying future," said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. "In the long run, going green will also help save us some green—with a sound investment to spare long-term costs for fuel, maintenance and more. We’re leading the way, here in our bold and innovative community, to make sure our Austin ISD students are on the cutting edge of healthier transportation for themselves, for our air quality and for addressing the growing climate crisis.”
AISD Executive Director of Transportation Kris Hafezizadeh said there are 548 diesel buses in the district that are taking students to and from school. With the new plan, all of them will be replaced with electric buses. A pilot program to achieve that goal is in development and will begin when three of those buses are replaced in September 2023 with all-electric ones.
"I am proud that Austin ISD is the first school district in Texas to commit to an all-electric fleet by 2035," AISD board President Geronimo M. Rodriguez Jr. said.
In September, AISD ordered three buses through the district's procurement process from manufacturing company IC Bus. This included two 71-passenger buses and one 47-passenger bus with a lift, Hafezizadeh said.
"Austin ISD transportation started researching the idea of piloting electric school buses about four years ago," he said. "We brainstormed with Austin Energy and other local, state and nationwide entities on how everything may work with the buses and charging stations. We were fortunate to be able to use some of the contingency funds from the 2013 bond to pilot three buses already."
Victory for environment, health
Environmentalists praised the district for taking this step toward a cleaner, healthier environment for students.
"This is a huge victory," said Luke Metzger, executive director for nonprofit organization Environment Texas. "Diesel is harmful to the health of everyone, including our children. It causes asthma attacks and causes children to perform poorly in school."
Students on school buses breathe four times more fumes than children riding in passenger cars, according to the National Resources Defense Council. A half-hour ride to school and another half-hour ride home each day amounts to 180 hours per school year, or 90 full 24-hour days, over 12 years of school. The World Health Organization recognizes diesel exhaust as a carcinogen and has proven that prolonged exposure significantly increases a person's lifetime risk for cancer.
Cost-effective changes
Not only is this a victory for children's health and the environment, proponents said AISD's initiative also helps ease the strain on the district's budget.
"This is a much cheaper way to carry the students from home to campus as diesel fuel is more expensive than charging the buses," Metzger said.
Rodriguez said the buses will be funded with "a number of sources, including the 2022 Austin ISD bond and federal tax credits."
"The upfront cost of a diesel bus is around $100,000," Hafezizadeh said. "The cost of an electric bus is a little under $380,000. However, we have applied for the [Environmental Protection Agency] rebate that will pay up to $250,000 per bus and should hear back this month on whether we get it."
The EPA, with funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $5 billion in rebates over the next five years to districts across the country who choose to follow in Austin ISD's footsteps to replace diesel buses with all-electric buses, according to information from the EPA.
