Petition in Support of a Transition to Electric School Buses
It's time to plan the transition to Electric School Buses in the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District!
Why?
- They're healthier: they don't expose riders and the public to harmful carbon monoxide fumes (more on the health issue here)
- They're safer: better handling, responsiveness, and ride comfort and less likely to roll over due to lower center of gravity.
- They're cheaper to repair and maintain
- They're quieter: so the bus driver can more easily communicate with the passengers
- Their batteries can be used as back-up in the event of a power failure
- And they're as environmentally friendly as the energy source used to charge them!
How?
- gradually, as diesel buses need replacing.
- using some of the following funding solutions from outside Amherst:
- Volkswagen settlement money
- state education funding
- partnerships with electrical utilities
- financial benefits from vehicle to grid technology
- leasing electric school buses instead of purchasing them
For more information, click here, or contact Mothers Out Front Amherst at: info.ma.pioneervalley@mothersoutfront.org.
As residents in the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, we want to take action to help avert the worst effects of climate change. We are concerned for the health and safety of our children and grandchildren, and want to take the lead in addressing climate change. One way we can take action locally is to transition our school bus fleet from using fossil fuels to using electricity.
Transportation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning our school bus fleet will not only lower emissions, it will also send a message to our children that we are taking steps to combat climate change, and address health concerns related to diesel exhaust, to ensure a healthy future for them.
We are concerned about the health risks associated with diesel exhaust for children that ride the bus every day. Given that young people have higher breathing rates and are still growing, they are more susceptible to the adverse health effects of diesel exhaust, such as increased allergies and asthma.
We believe it will be possible, in the coming years, to invest in electric buses without raising taxes for the communities by replacing them only as old buses age out and when the projected life-cycle cost is close to that of a diesel bus.
Therefore, we, the undersigned Amherst, Pelham, Shutesbury, and Leverett parents and community members, submit this petition to the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, in order to declare our support for an immediate start to planning for a transition from fossil-fuel-powered to electric school buses. We ask that the School Committee:
- Develop a plan to transition the public school buses to electric as soon as is feasible, including all buses owned and contracted for service, in the context of an overall plan to reduce the carbon footprint in Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools.
- Research grants available for funding electric school buses and their charging infrastructure, as well as for the training to properly maintain the vehicles, and explore potential funding partnerships.
Like this to spread the word
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Renee Moss signed 2020-04-28 09:03:27 -0400
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Molly Christie signed via Catlin Converse 2019-12-17 21:47:53 -0500
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Jasmine Kerrissey signed 2019-12-17 21:01:13 -0500
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Daina Carvel signed 2019-12-17 17:48:44 -0500
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Raina Uhden signed 2019-12-16 17:50:47 -0500
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Carol Pope signed 2019-12-16 17:04:21 -0500
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Terry S Johnson signed 2019-12-16 16:41:18 -0500
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Chris Felton signed 2019-12-16 15:49:31 -0500
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Jennifer Page signed 2019-12-16 14:32:56 -0500
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Diana Stein signed 2019-12-16 12:52:39 -0500
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Stephen King signed 2019-12-16 11:40:38 -0500
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Eric Bachrach signed 2019-12-16 11:30:29 -0500
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Sylvia Brandt signed 2019-12-16 11:25:41 -0500Sylvia Brandt
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Sigurd Nilsen signed via Peggy Matthews-Nilsen 2019-12-16 11:18:30 -0500
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Peggy Matthews-Nilsen signed 2019-12-16 11:03:16 -0500
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Craig Meadows signed 2019-12-16 10:30:41 -0500
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Alan Goodman signed 2019-12-16 10:04:26 -0500
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Amber Cano-Martin signed 2019-12-16 09:56:10 -0500Amber
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Catlin Converse signed 2019-12-16 07:35:29 -0500
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Elsa Petit signed 2019-12-15 08:48:23 -0500
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Emily Riddle signed 2019-12-15 07:19:38 -0500
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Jay Mankita signed 2019-12-14 22:12:41 -0500Jay Mankita
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Mary Wyse signed 2019-12-14 21:10:51 -0500
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Gordon Wyse signed 2019-12-14 21:10:41 -0500
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@HettyStartup tweeted link to this page. 2019-12-14 20:29:46 -0500Sign the petition: Petition in Support of a Transition to Electric School Buses https://ma.mothersoutfront.org/electric_bus_petition_amherst?recruiter_id=52922
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DeAnne Riddle signed 2019-12-14 15:03:08 -0500When I walk past the high school at pick time I appreciate the one quiet, clean electric bus among the noisy, smelly ones.
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Remy Fernandez OBrien signed 2019-12-13 21:24:06 -0500
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Susan McGinn signed 2019-12-13 21:14:05 -0500Susan McGinn
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Ron Grosslein signed 2019-12-13 20:38:56 -0500This is surely a good idea. If not us, who will do this? If not now, when? Let’s find a way!
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Steve Rice signed 2019-12-13 17:06:36 -0500