Kent and Renton are among the 22 school districts in the state that will receive electric buses later this year paid for by grants from the state Department of Ecology.
Kent will receive $871,356 for three buses. Renton will get $571,166 for two buses, according to Ecology. A total of 40 buses are headed to the districts at a cost of $12 million.
“The grants are intended to cover the cost difference between an electric bus and a diesel bus, although part of the funding can also go to pay for charging equipment,” said Andrew Wineke, Ecology communications manager, in a Wednesday email.
Funding from Washington’s Volkswagen diesel emission settlement will pay for the buses. The first of the new buses are expected to arrive later this year.
“When students are able to return to school, these 40 new, zero-emission buses will help get them there,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a Ecology news release. “This is a great investment in a healthier future for students and their communities.”
It’s one of the largest investments in zero-emission school buses in the country, according to Ecology.
“Children face the greatest risks from diesel pollution, and giving them cleaner transportation to school is a priority,” Ecology Director Laura Watson said. “These buses are an important first step toward helping every student in Washington start and end their days with an emission-free ride.”
Ecology is investing Washington’s $112.7 million share of the nationwide Volkswagen settlement in projects designed to cut air pollution and push the state’s transportation system toward zero-emission vehicles. In 2018 and 2019, Ecology awarded similar grants to transit agencies to purchase a total of 66 electric transit buses.
The Volkswagen settlements stem from the discovery that the carmaker illegally installed software on its diesel cars that activated emission controls only when it detected the emissions were being tested. In ordinary driving, the software allowed the engines to emit as much as 40 times the legal limit for nitrous oxides, violating the state and federal Clean Air Acts and threatening public health.
40 electric school buses, by the numbers
* 400,000 – Number of zero-emission miles these buses will drive each year
* 19,200 tons – Lifetime reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
* 3,000 – Number of children these buses will carry each day
* 2007 – All of the electric buses will replace pre-2007 diesel buses, with older emissions controls
* 67% – Two-thirds of these electric buses will serve communities disproportionately affected by diesel pollution
* 36 tons – Lifetime reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions
* 1 – Current number of electric school buses in Washington (in Tacoma’s Franklin Pierce School District)
Learn more
Washington’s Volkswagen settlements – www.ecology.wa.gov/vw
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