(RepublicanView.org) – The Biden administration has announced a $1 billion investment in low-emission school buses. The cash will fund over 2,700 buses across 280 school districts in seven states and bring the number of such vehicles across the US to more than 5,000. Vice President Kamala Harris announced the boost and said, “The historic funding we are announcing today is an investment in our children, their health, and their education.”
Harris stated that the vast majority of school buses currently operating in America run on diesel and expose students, teachers, and bus drivers to “toxic air pollution.”
Katherine García, director of the campaign group Clean Transportation for All, welcomed the news and said parents want their kids to be safe, and that includes protection from unclean air. “Parents also want clean air in their neighborhoods and investments to help tackle the climate crisis,” she added.
In 2023, the World Resources Institute reported information from Atlas EV Hub and School Bus Fleet, saying that around 90% of US school buses are powered by diesel, and transport more than 20 million children to school every day. The World Resources Institute linked to research, stating that diesel fumes are a known carcinogen with proven links to “serious physical health issues” and cognitive deficiency. Furthermore, it claimed that 49 states have already committed to introducing electricity-run buses, although not all of these have materialized.
California leads the way with hundreds of buses already in operation and 2,078 on the way. Maryland is in second place and operates 331 vehicles with a commitment to introduce 391 more. Last summer, there were “2,277 electric school buses on order, delivered or operating.” There were also commitments to introduce a further 5,982 nationwide.
The National Library of Medicine published data in 2021 claiming that air pollution affects learning ability. The study looked at three kinds of pollutants and their association with the academic test scores of eighth-grade students over a six-year period. They concluded that “ambient air pollution” is “associated with lower academic performance among children.”
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