Did you know that New York City has one of the highest asthma rates among children in the country? According to NYC Environmental Protection, children breathe 50% more air per pound than adults causing their asthma symptoms to increase due to vehicle exhaust.
The White Plains School district, which is only an hour away from NYC, has teamed up with school bus contractor National Express LLC, to be the first school district to use a Type C electric fleet in the state! Switching to all-electric school buses help decrease vehicle exhaust around school zones preventing children from breathing in toxic emissions.
The electric school buses are nearly identical to a typical school bus but instead of using fuel, their batteries will be charged every night, produce no vehicle exhaust and can drive around 75 miles on one charge.
Earlier this year, Gov. Cuomo enacted a comprehensive agenda to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and growing the clean energy economy. One aspect of the plan requires that 50% of the state’s electricity must come from clean and renewable sources by 2030. The demonstration project emphasizes the priority the state is putting on public-private partnerships to increase electric vehicle deployments and reduce emissions.
Consolidated Edison, Inc., the utility company serving customers in Westchester County and New York City is hoping to continue to work with other school districts to electrify their buses and increase benefits for its grid.
The district will be using five eLion school buses from The Lion Electric Company of Quebec starting this September thanks to The New York State Public Service Commision approving the program. Con Edison and National Express have agreed to split the cost of the energy produced by the buses. National Express will pay the energy cost during the school year while Con Edison will pay the contractor during the summer months for the right to use the busses as grid assets while parked.
This is a great step towards C40 Cities and The Climate Groups newly announced ‘Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Challenge.’ The five electric-powered buses are expected to eliminate up to 1,500 tons of greenhouse gases during a school year.
For more information on how you can help the environment, contact us or call us at 516.855.7283 today!
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