Tomorrow's
Buses for Today's
Children
-------
America's School Buses:
Graduating to Cleaner Fleets for Kids
School buses transport more than 25 million American
students every day, and they provide the safest transpor-
tation for children to get to and from school. However,
many older school buses emit harmful diesel exhaust
that directly affects children.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
ensuring that all new buses meet tighter standards
developed to reduce diesel emissions and improve
safety. Today's new buses are cleaner—60 times cleaner
than buses built before 1990—and feature additional
emergency exits, improved mirror systems, and pedes-
trian safety devices. But replacing America's school bus
fleet will take time because diesel school buses can
operate for 20 to 30 years.
Clean School Bus USA is a national, innovative program
designed to help communities reduce emissions from
diesel school buses. It provides resources and assistance
to fleet owners and operators as well as educators,
transportation officials, and community partners com-
mitted to improving school bus fleets and protecting
children's health.
Improving Air Quality Across the Country
for Children
Clean School Bus USA focuses on helping to clean up
school buses in use today by providing resources and
assistance to school districts and fleet owners and
operators across the country. Clean School Bus USA
provides:
Funding and financial incentives for retrofitting and
replacing diesel school buses.
Information about approved retrofit devices and
other technologies.
Tools to inventory school bus fleets and calculate
potential emission reductions.
• Materials, publications, and related resources.
• Idle reduction materials and school bus driver
awareness program.
Through NCDC, EPA provides grants and
innovative financing mechanisms to assist eligi-
ble partners in building diesel emission reduc-
tion programs. The Diesel Emissions Reduction
provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 are
a significant funding source to bring verified
and emerging, cost-effective technologies to
communities nationwide.
The Effects of Diesel Emissions
on Children
Diesel exhaust produces harmful air con-
taminants such as ozone-forming nitrogen
oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM).
Breathing these emissions is harmful to
everyone, but especially to children
because they have a faster breathing rate
than adults. Exposure to these emissions
can also lead to respiratory diseases—and
aggravate conditions such as asthma,
which affects nearly 6.3 million U.S. chil-
dren, making it the most common long-
term childhood disease in America.
-------
Delivering Health and
Environmental Benefits
Since its launch in 2003, EPA's Clean School Bus USA
program has worked to reduce children's exposure
to diesel exhaust by reducing the amount of pol-
lution created by diesel school buses. As a result,
more than 3 million students are riding on cleaner
buses. It is estimated that more than 45,000 buses
are using emission reduction technologies and
cleaner fuels. School districts across the United
States are implementing idle reduction programs,
reducing air pollution, and saving money on fuel
costs.
We can reduce harmful emissions from today's
older school buses by 90 percent or more by taking
advantage of clean diesel technologies, clean burn-
ing fuels, and smart driving practices. To achieve
these reductions, owners and operators of school
buses can:
Retrofit current school bus fleets with PM filters,
Case Study: Pinellas County
You won't find school buses idling within the Pinel-
las County School District in Florida. The 22nd larg-
est public school district in the country—seventh
in Florida—recognized that idling engines were
not only driving up fuel costs, but also generating
harmful pollution that affects children's health.
With funding from Clean School Bus USA and a
local Air Pollution Recovery Trust Fund, Pinellas
County retrofitted 270 school buses in 2006 with
clean diesel technology and began an idle reduc-
tion outreach campaign.
oxidation catalysts, or other new technologies.
Switch to cleaner fuels, such as biodiesel or
compressed natural gas.
Reduce school bus idling, deploy the cleanest
buses on the longest routes, and minimize time
students spend outside when buses arrive and
depart.
Replace older buses with new models that meet
more stringent standards.
By training bus drivers in the importance of idle
reduction, posting "No-Idle" signs in bus circles
of each school, creating a voluntary pledge for
drivers, and formulating a district-wide idle reduc-
tion policy, the school district reduced idle times
to less than 30 minutes per day—well below the
90 minute national average. Reduced idling and
retrofits have decreased emissions by more than
177 tons and saved more than 38,000 gallons of
fuel per year.
-------
For More Information
To learn more about Clean School Bus USA, visit
www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/schoolbus.
------- |