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Just yesterday (Earth Day!), Mayor Bill de Blasio made a pledge on behalf of New York City school buses, announcing they will all go electric by the year 2035. There's more: by 2030, 75 new electric yellow buses will be incorporated into the existing fleet and, by 2040, 100% of city vehicles will be electric, according to the Mayor.
"The transition from a diesel school bus fleet to an all-electric [one] will have significant climate, health and cost-saving impacts," reads an official press release about the announcement. "The new fleet will reduce 30% of carbon emissions from school buses, remove enough air pollution citywide to avoid two premature deaths each year, reduce asthma emergency department visits and respiratory and cardiac hospitalizations, and save about $18 million in health care costs."
Among the issues to be resolved for the goal to be met is the lack of charging stations across the city. De Blasio announced his intention to work with the City Council to pass a bill that would require all new garages and parking lots to feature charging stations.
"We need to get off fossil fuels and we need to turn to all of the approaches that will help us be greener all the time," the Mayor said during an official press conference. "That means zero-emission vehicles."
The news event also included a sneak peek at the very first electric school bus to be phased into the city's fleet and an announcement about curbside composting program. The latter, which was cut from last year's budget, will kick off again in October.
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