Those Yellow Buses Get Cleaner & Greener
In the U.S., around 480,000 yellow buses drive nearly 3.5 billion miles each year transporting school students. These buses, along with students driving personal vehicles, emit tons of greenhouse gases into the environment, which contribute to global warming and impact health.
As concerns around climate change grow, many schools are making the switch to cleaner transportation.
Reduced Idling Time
According to experts, diesel exhaust contains significant levels of particulate matter, which can lodgeinto the heart and lungs and cause premature death. Not only does diesel exhaust pollute the area around the bus, but it can also enter the school building through air intakes and entrances.
Some drivers leave engines idling because they believe restarting the bus will produce more pollution. However, continuous idling for more than three minutes emits more particulate matter than a restart. If the engine is on, the bus should be moving. Drivers should turn the vehicle off at loading and unloading areas.
Retrofit Diesel Technology
A simple retrofit, such as adding a diesel particulate filer to an older bus, or modification to the school bus’s engine, can reduce some types of emissions by more than 95 percent. Schools that made the switch saw significant improvements in students’ respiratory health, along with an increase in aerobic capacity scores.
Districts can perform relatively inexpensive engine retrofits to increase student health and performance significantly. This method is often overlooked in the fight to make school transportation cleaner.
All-Electric Replacements
Many schools are making the switch to fully electric vehicles. These zero-emission vehicles educate students about the importance of protecting the environment while also emiting no local pollution.
Electric school buses often come equipped with cutting edge technology, including AI-powered internal and external motion detection. These features can detect students who may be stuck and unnoticed by classmates and the driver. In the future, they could also be used to optimize routes and reduce power consumption.
Walking and Biking Alternatives
It’s better for the environment for students to all pile into a big yellow school bus than drive to class separately. However, it’s possible to reduce emissions by cutting vehicles out of the equation entirely. As an alternative, schools are encouraging students to take active transportation, whether it’s walking, biking or skateboarding.
One international movement, Safe Routes to School, promotes convenient and healthy opportunities for children to walk, reversing the decrease in students’ physical activity. As a bonus, these communities alleviate traffic congestion and improve air quality.
How to Make School Transportation Cleaner
Climate change is a pervasive issue that won’t dissipate anytime soon. As a result, the world—including schools—must change.
While the traditional old school bus pumps out harmful toxins, alternatives, from retrofitted engines to electric buses and bicycling, reduce emissions and improve student health.
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