A switch from diesel to electric school buses can be an expensive proposition, but new research suggests it's a healthy investment Replacing a diesel bus with an electric one could save more than $247,000 in health expenditures City dwellers stood to benefit more than rural residents WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- It might be hoped that replacing a diesel school bus with a clean electric model would pay off for health and the environment. New research suggests that it does -- and gives a dollar figure for that payoff. Replacing a diesel bus with a clean electric model yields up to $247,600 in climate and health benefits per bus, according to research from Harvard University's T.
H. Chan School of Public Health. The savings come from lowered rates of child asthma , fewer greenhouse gas emissions and extended lives for adults, said the team led by Kari Nadeau , a professor of climate and population studies at the school.
"Our data offer strong evidence that accelerating the ongoing transition to electric school buses will benefit individual, public and planetary health," she said in a Harvard news release. Nadeau's team estimated that half a million buses currently transport America's children every day. A big percentage of those vehicles run on polluting diesel fuel.
Of course, a switch to expensive electric buses is a tough decision for cash-strapped school districts. Is it worth it in the long run? To find out, the Harvard team calculated the cost to the environm.