500,000 Florida children ride to school on diesel buses. That is not being efficient. | Opinion
In September, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection announced awards to purchase 227 electric transit buses in 13counties and 218 electric school buses in seven school districts across Florida from the Volkswagen settlement. Expanding electric vehicle transportation solutions is a good economic and environmental solution for Florida, and voters agree.
Recent polling shows most Floridians support electric vehicles (EVs). In fact, 65% of Florida voters support lowering taxes and fees on EVs. While buying a light duty, personal electric vehicle is commendable, transition of medium and heavy-duty fleets to electric is how we can scale the cost savings and pollution reduction benefits for Floridians. School buses operating as the largest mass transportation fleet in the country – make it a great place to start.
Each school day, 500,000 Florida children ride to and from school on 18,000 diesel buses that emit harmful pollutants throughout our communities. Electric school buses (ESBs) don’t just help lower pollutants while protecting the health and future of Florida’s kids, they are actually more cost effective. ESBs are more fuel efficient, require less maintenance, and yield higher annual savings – making their total cost of ownership much lower than that of a traditional diesel school bus. That means taxpayers save money.
Environmental Defense Fund’s 2021 Electric School Bus Fact Sheet report found electric school buses to be 60% more energy efficient than diesels (8 miles per gallon vs 21 miles per diesel gallon equivalent), and they provide a 10% total cost of ownership savings over their 12-year lifetime. If Florida were to convert its entire fleet, it could save more than $100 million annually.
Florida’s early investments put us on track to make great progress. Currently, there are over 200 ESBs operating in the state with more school districts beginning to make the transition every year. Districts that use electric buses are seeing cost savings of $2,000 on fuel and $4,400 in maintenance per bus each year.
In August, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton said, “Florida continues to be a national leader in air quality and is proud to be the most populous state in the nation to have met all of EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Through collaboration with partner agencies and the private sector, we are able to implement projects to protect air quality and support the needs of our communities.”
Now is the time for Florida’s school districts to seize every opportunity to leverage the Clean School Bus Rebate Program, National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, the Rural Infrastructure Fund, and other programs, to build a sustainable future for our kids who deserve clean air, clean energy and a strong economy.
The future is bright for Florida’s kids if we continue to lead on electric school bus adoption to lower costs and make children’s health a priority.
Ali DySard is a senior specialist for the Environmental Defense Fund. As a part of EDF’s Florida team, DySard works to grow and implement medium and heavy-duty electric vehicle fleets, EV infrastructure and policy in the Sunshine State.
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