Title
Recognizing the School District of Philadelphia for becoming the first Pennsylvania School District to acquire electric school buses.
Body
WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia announced the acquisition of five electric school buses, which will be the first of their kind in Pennsylvania, for the 2021-2022 school year; and
WHEREAS, Through the District's sustainability plan, GreenFutures, the Office of Transportation Services is committed to replacing its fleet of older diesel school buses with new technologies that focus on low emissions, improved fuel economy, and safety for students and drivers; and
WHEREAS, The District acquired the electric buses through the support of Diesel Emissions Reductions Act (DERA) and its commitment to continue expanding the electric bus fleet by purchasing five electric buses per year to replace older diesel buses; and
WHEREAS, The District has purchased the LionC buses from Lion Electric, North America's leading manufacturer of zero-emission school buses, with nearly 400 vehicles on the road and seven million miles driven; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the direct procurement of electric buses, the School District is providing incentives to its contracted bus operators to also acquire zero emissions vehicles to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect student health, and improve neighborhood pollution levels; and
WHEREAS, Replacing gasoline and diesel buses with electric buses addresses climate change, helps children's health, decreases respiratory contaminants in the air, and ultimately improves overall community health while eliminating noise pollution; and
WHEREAS, Operating an electric school bus instead of a diesel school bus is the equivalent to removing 23 tons of greenhouse gases per year; and
WHEREAS, Electric school buses have fewer moving parts, making them much more affordable to operate, with approximately 60 percent less maintenance cost and 80 percent lower energy cost; and
WHEREAS, T...
Click here for full text