SCHUMER DELIVERS $7.9 MILLION THROUGH THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE & JOBS LAW FOR THE LAKE SHORE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WESTERN NY TO PURCHASE 20 NEW CLEAN, ELECTRIC BUSES AND CHARGERS
Diesel Exhaust From School Buses Both Pollutes Neighborhoods And Has Been Linked To Asthma In Children, But Now Thanks To $$ Schumer Secured Thousands Of WNY Children Can Have A Cleaner Commute To School All While Fighting Climate Change
Schumer: Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Is Driving Us Towards A Healthier Future For Western NY
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that Evans-Brant Central School District (Lake Shore) in Western New York will receive $7.9 million grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Clean School Bus Program, which was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act Schumer led to passage. This funding will help the school district to purchase 20 clean school buses and 20 bus charging stations.
“Beep Beep - get ready Lake Shore Central School District because nearly $8 million has just arrived to purchase 20 new clean electric school buses and charging stations to fight climate change and give our students and communities cleaner air on the way to school every day. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, as the wheels of the new, electric school buses go round and round, carbon emissions and pollution are going to keep going down and down in Western NY,” said Senator Schumer. “I led the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to passage so communities across the state will have the federal funding needed to combat climate change, and now, for the second year in a row, this major investment will set the wheels in motion to put new electric school buses on New York’s roads, curbing carbon emissions, decreasing pollution, and improving the air quality for students across America. I am proud to deliver this tremendous environmental justice investment that will carry our students to a brighter future, emissions free.”
“By eliminating diesel fuel emissions, electric buses provide public and environmental health benefits, and they offer school districts operational savings said Lake Shore Central School District Superintendent Dan Pacos. “While the upfront cost of an electric school bus is higher than a diesel, the electric buses cut fuel and maintenance costs in half over the vehicle’s lifetime.” He said with each electric bus, Lake Shore anticipates saving $15,000 annually in fuel and maintenance costs.
“We credit Sen. Schumer with making it possible for Lake Shore to make these advances in carbon emission reduction,” continued Superintendent Pacos. “He led the bipartisan infrastructure law to passage, and that brought millions of dollars in federal funds to help upstate school districts purchase new electric buses through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program. His efforts in making the cleanest technologies more affordable and available to our school districts brings us new school buses, and a healthier environment for our children and communities.”
Schumer said the Lake Shore Central School District in Erie County was one of only 67 applicants in the country to be selected as part of this round of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program’s Grant Competition. Schumer explained that diesel exhaust from old fossil fuel powered buses is a major contributor to air quality problems in many communities and has been linked to poor health and asthma, especially for children, whose lungs are not yet fully developed. This major nearly $8 million grant will help phase out old buses in the fleet and enable the school district to purchase 20 clean school buses and 20 bus chargers. Lake Shore transports more than 2000 students to 13 public, private and special needs locations throughout Western New York each school day. Currently, Lake Shore has 54 school buses, which means this latest grant boosts the fleet to nearly 50 percent.
Today’s funding builds on the over $50 million Schumer delivered last year from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Upstate New York school districts to purchase over 130 new clean, electric buses. Nationwide the awards announced today total nearly $1 billion to 37 states, which will improve the quality of life of over seven million students by adding over 2,700 clean school buses in 280 school districts to the nation’s fleet. New York alone is receiving nearly $69 million to add 200 clean school buses and 206 bus charges across the state.
Schumer explained that three years after it passed through Congress, funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law continues to drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, creating jobs and supporting domestic manufacturing, while also removing old, dirty diesel buses and ferries from some of the most vulnerable communities.
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