ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES   

Approximately 225,000 children ride the bus to school each day in the Atlantic Canada. Most of these school buses are powered by diesel engines. The exhaust from diesel engines causes serious physical and mental health issues for the students and bus drivers. Electric school buses have become a reliable alternative that have a lower cost to maintain and fuel. Read through the sections below to learn more about electric school buses.   

Advocate with NB Lung

DRIVING TOWARDS A HEALTHIER FUTURE

Protecting Children’s Health by Switching to Electric School Busses

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We all know that vehicle exhaust is bad for our health…

but did you know that the pollution is likely to be higher inside the bus than outside? This puts our youth at risk.    

DID YOU KNOW

A 2023 poll from Abacus Data shows that 80 per cent of Atlantic Canadians see links between their health and air pollution from traffic. In the same poll, 83 per cent of Atlantic Canadians expressed support toward accelerating the plan to electrify school buses so that 100 per cent of buses are electric by 2040.   

Health

Diesel exhaust fumes contain pollutants like fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene, a known human carcinogen.  

Short term exposure to pollutants in vehicle exhaust can cause an irritated throat, cough, or shortness of breath when spending time around a school bus. It can also aggravate and increase the symptoms of many lung and heart conditions. Long-term exposure to diesel exhaust can cause serious conditions.  

  • Exposure can exacerbate or trigger asthma, bronchitis, COPD, and other lung health effects  

    • Increased number of asthma symptom days from traffic related air pollution  

    • Reduction in diesel emission exposure resulted in 30% decrease in childhood bronchitis and asthma cases  

    • Exposure to nitrogen dioxide in vehicle exhaust is associated with an increase in COPD prevalence and aggravates existing conditions. NO2 is also associated with increased asthma prevalence in children.  

    • Increased rates of heart disease  

    • Increased hypertension associated with long term exposure to NO2 and PM2.5.  

    • Increased allergy sensitivity  

    • Increased rates of diabetes, lung cancer, leukemia, breast cancer, other cancers  

    • Central nervous system effects: parkinson's disease, dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and ALS.  

  • Studies have shown that PM2.5 also negatively impacts cognitive development, with measured impacts on proficiency in math and English. This, in addition to the brain fog and memory deficits, is a poor way to set up students as they begin each day of learning.   

  • Vehicle exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which is why it is dangerous to spend time in a closed space with a running vehicle. However, students who have a long bus ride may be exposed to CO for 30 minutes. At the low levels found inside school buses, this can cause headaches, weakness, nausea, or dizziness.

  • Sound exposure from the diesel bus ride also increases rates of anxiety and depression in young people. At this important and already challenging stage of life, we should be seeking alternatives to decrease mental distress on students.  

      

    With many of these conditions, long term exposure air pollution exposure is associated with an increase in risk of having the condition, while short term exposure can exacerbate symptoms.  

    Removing diesel buses from the road also removes a large source of health risk to our students, bus drivers, and community members.  

  • Children under 16 are more susceptible to health risks due to air quality compared to adults. Children’s lungs are small, still developing, and have a higher rate of breathing, creating a higher exposure to pollution than adults.  

  • While the group most significantly impacted by diesel fuel exhaust is the 225,000 students in Atlantic Canada riding the buses, we must remember the hundreds of bus drivers who transport our children to school each day. Bus drivers are exposed to exhaust fumes inside the bus for a longer time period than students are each day.   
      
    Is it not uncommon for bus drivers to experience hearing loss, especially in their left ear, closest to the bus window. The quiet experience of an electric school bus eliminates this risk for our bus drivers.  
      
    Adults are at higher risk of a few of the long-term impacts than children, such as diabetes and heart conditions. Pregnant persons exposed to traffic related air pollution also increase their risk of several complications during pregnancy, birth, and in the life of their newborn child. 

Electric Buses:

    • Charging can be done whenever the bus is not in use and does not need supervision. Prince Edward Island is piloting the installation of chargers at bus driver residences so that the drivers can continue to take the buses home with them in the evening.  

    • Starting and driving an electric bus is functionally the same as operating a diesel bus. There are no new skills needed.  

    • Because the vehicle is quiet, drivers can hear their surroundings better. This allows them to pay better attention to the road and their passengers. This makes the bus commute safer for students on the bus and everyone on the road.  

    • Like many electric vehicles, electric school buses include an artificial sound at low speeds to alert pedestrians and other road users of its presence.   

    • Diesel buses are de-commissioned after 10-12 years in Atlantic Canada. Similarly, electric school buses have expected lifespans of 12-15 years.   

    • Fewer moving parts in the vehicle means less maintenance requirements and costs.   

    • Less maintenance means that they will need to be pulled from their routes less often than their diesel counterparts.  

    • You might know that in cold weather, many vehicles work less efficiently. Diesel buses produce a measurable increase in their emissions, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.  

    • Electric school buses do not lose as much range as regular passenger vehicles in the winter. A typical range is anywhere between 100-240km depending on the year and model of the bus. In the winter, they may lose 10-15% of their range, mostly due to added resistance of driving through snow.  

    • The health benefits of Electric School Buses listed above improve the life, health, and wellbeing of bus drivers and the students being transported each day.   

    • As you can imagine, the mental health and brain function impacts of diesel air exposure are particularly impactful in a child who is in school and meant to be learning. These children are being exposed to air that leads to memory deficits, learning difficulties, anxiety and depression, on their way to a full day of being taught and tested.  

    • Today’s children are already experiencing a climate crisis like no other. Just one diesel bus emits approximately 20 tonnes of planet-warming gases each year. An entire fleet makes a significant contribution to our climate change problem. Replacing diesel school buses with electric buses is an effective way to significantly reduce regional emissions.  

    • Demonstrating actions to kids that solve multiple known problems (health and environmental, in this case), encourages children to have hope and perseverance when it comes to solving problems in their own lives and in their communities.  

    • Electric school buses have expensive purchase prices compared to diesel school buses. There is some federal funding in place, but the funding pool is limited and shared with electrifying public transit across the country. There is a need for more federal funding to support the electric transition of school buses.  

    • Charging infrastructure needs to be in place to support the electric school buses on their routes. Depending on the strategy, regions may want to install level 2 or level 3 chargers to support their fleet. A lot of planning and budgeting is required to have charging ready for school buses, which sometimes includes partnering with other fleets to share charging infrastructure or installing charging at the homes of bus drivers. Don’t forget to apply to any existing rebates for charging infrastructure purchase and installation! The time and finances involved in this stage can be a barrier to many.  

    • As technology changes, our technicians and mechanics must be properly trained to work with electric vehicles at all scales. This training is beginning to be incorporated into trades programs, which will slowly increase the number of trained professionals in the work force.  

  • Between the health and environmental cost of diesel exhaust pollution, our communities are paying the expensive cost of standard school buses. Replacing old diesel buses with electric buses will save our communities and governments in the long run.  

    Whether you are a teacher, parent, health professional, bus driver, or member of the public, you have a valuable voice when it comes to advocating for electric school buses in your region. Please take advantage of the various advocacy tools below that can support you when you speak to members of the government or school boards about phasing out diesel buses. If you are interested in advocacy in other areas related to clean air and lung health, you can find more resources on our NB Lung Advocacy page.  

  • Read the “Driving Towards a Healthier Future: Protecting Children’s Health by Switching to Electric School Buses” health report and toolkit co-written by NB Lung with Ecology Action Centre, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).   

    Please reach out if you want to get more involved in electric school bus advocacy in your region.  

  • NB Lung plays a role in increasing air monitoring across New Brunswick by installing equipment that measures PM2.5 at homes, parks, and schools. The resulting data is available in real time online here. Having access to data in real time helps New Brunswickers to make healthy choices to protect their lung health. These sensors are low-cost and are easy to install.