Electric school buses will soon be driving around school districts across Washington, one part of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) helped to push through Congress.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee joined Murray at Lumen Field in Seattle on Wednesday to celebrate the $5 billion government investment in zero-emissions buses over five years promised by the law.
The goal: To replace the half-million fossil fuel-chugging school buses currently on roads across the country with zero-emissions rides. According to news sources, only about 5% of all school buses in the U.S. are electric at this time.
During the Lumen Field event, Harris noted that Washington state school districts in Langley, Easton, Pomeroy and Toppenish are among 389 districts across the U.S. that will receive grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expedite their purchase of clean buses.
“We are witnessing around our country and around the world the effects of extreme climate,” Harris said as she stood in front of several electric buses. “What we’re announcing today is a step forward in our nation’s commitment to be a leader on these issues, to reduce greenhouse gases, to invest in our economy.” Harris was in Seattle in support of Murray, who is being challenged in the November election by Republican Tiffany Smiley.
In a release, Murray offered these statistics in support of the need for school bus greening :
- Across the country more than 25 million children ride school buses each day.
- Those kids are transported on 500,000 school buses.
- Out of every 20 school buses, 19 use diesel fuel.
- School buses travel over 3 billion miles per year
- Transportation accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
Murray, who has long championed the zero-emissions school buses and who has voiced concern about the health impacts to kids and drivers of daily diesel emissions exposure, said the law will bring new jobs as well as reduce emissions.
“This is just one way we boost an economy-wide transition to clean energy. We’ll be making these clean buses here in America, creating good-paying jobs — all while promoting clean air and better health outcomes for our kids. It’s a win-win-win,” Murray said.
