When students in East St. Louis, Illinois, head back to school Monday, they'll do so in eco-friendly style.
Over the summer, East St. Louis School District 189 held a groundbreaking for a new bus depot. The building will hold 25 electric buses and 25 chargers, all of which are expected to be ready for the 2025-26 school year, according to the district.
"Our students deserve clean, safe, and modern transportation," Superintendent Arthur Culver said in the news release. "... This is an exciting step forward for student wellness and a cleaner, healthier future for East St. Louis."
The new buses will serve seven schools and join the district's existing fleet of 80 buses.
The project will cost about $10 million, the Belleville News-Democrat reported, including maintenance and electricity expenses. Much of that funding is being provided by grants from the Environmental Protection Agency's $5 billion Clean School Bus Program.
Nationwide, gas-powered school buses are estimated to produce more than 9 million tons of carbon pollution per year while transporting more than 24 million students to and from school. They primarily run on diesel, the exhaust from which is classified as a carcinogen.
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Electric buses have no tailpipe emissions and create a fraction of the pollution of their gas-powered counterparts. But their benefit goes well beyond that.
Studies have shown that switching to electric buses could lower students' risk of asthma, with potential health benefits of more than $200,000 per electric school bus.
Other research found that electric buses could also greatly benefit students' mental health. The loud noise associated with diesel engines — and the loud noises students make to be heard over those engines — can cause stress, particularly to neurodivergent students. Electric buses, meanwhile, offer a smoother, quieter ride.
Several states, including California, have passed laws mandating that all new school buses will be electric.
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"This is what it looks like to put students first, to invest in their health, in their future, and in a transportation system that reflects their worth," District 189 executive director of communications Sydney Stigge-Kaufman said.
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