SCUSD Acquired 7 New Electric Buses with Funding from Sacramento Metro Air District
When: National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day; Tuesday, April 28, at 10:00 A.M.
Where: SCUSD Transportation Department; 7050 San Joaquin St, Sacramento, CA 95820
What: SCUSD Bus Drivers will return to the Transportation Department from their routes by 9:30 A.M. SCUSD will then host a press conference with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District to showcase the electric bus fleet, followed by a celebration for National Bus Drivers Appreciation Day.
Sacramento, CA – National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day is April 28, and Sacramento City Unified will be celebrating its transportation workers that day, while also marking an important sustainability milestone for its electric bus fleet.
Each of the 7 new electric buses put into service this school year have replaced a combustible engine bus that would have burned 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel by April 28. The diesel gas saved by these 7 electric buses would equal 75 metric tons of CO2 from polluting the air.
The acquisition of these buses was made possible with funding from the Sac Metro Air District, the leading regional agency responsible for monitoring air quality, reducing air pollution, enforcing air quality regulations, and promoting decarbonization efforts through innovative incentive programs and projects.
SCUSD operates 105 school buses a day, and drivers provide service to roughly 2,650 students. Currently, the district has 19 electric buses, with another 2 arriving in October. Another 19 propane powered school buses are in the fleet, which produce up to 96% less toxic emissions than diesel buses.
“We want to thank our families for trusting our district to transport their children safely to school, and I profusely thank our drivers, mechanics, and transportation staff for their work and care each day to make that possible,” said April K. Ybarra, 2nd Vice President, SCUSD Board of Education. “Our Board has made Carbon Neutrality an important goal for the district to achieve, every electric bus we add is an investment in our health and safety, and today’s announcement shows that we care deeply about the environmental impact of our buses as they travel through our community.”
On Tuesday, April 28, SCUSD Bus Drivers will return to the Transportation Department from their routes by 9:30 A.M. SCUSD will then host a press conference with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District at 10:00 A.M. followed by a celebration for National Bus Drivers Appreciation Day.