Why the delays on electric buses?

Posted November 09, 2024 11:13 am

I walk my dogs every morning. Each morning I’m subjected to the foul, fetid odor of diesel exhaust from school buses.

What’s worse, our school children are stewing in this miasma of fumes every day, morning and afternoon. Everyone has seen the blue-gray, carcinogenic bile that these vehicles belch into our air. No wonder our children lag behind other industrialized countries in reading and math. Studies indicate that each year 125,000 cases of cancer and 50,000 premature deaths occur in the United States as a result of exposure to diesel exhaust. Why don’t we have electric buses?

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agenc offers grants to help schools purchase electric buses. The IEPA funds a portion of the cost of electric bus-charging equipment. The IEPA has also committed a significant portion of VW Settlement funding to electric school buses. Why are we still sending our children to school in these death traps?

Jim Arneberg

Hoffman Estates

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