Online Forum Slated Jan. 27 on Electrifying School Bus Fleets

January 26, 2022 Examiner Media Mothers Out Front, Westchester County

Westchester County Executive George Latimer, the County’s Office of Energy & Sustainability and ‘Mothers Out Front’ are teaming up to host an electric school bus webinar. The webinar will be held via Zoom on Thursday, January 27, from 1 to 3 p.m. For additional information, contact mofwestchesterrivertowns@gmail.com.

“My Administration has made it our priority to not only focus on what green initiatives we can immediately control on the county level, but to also work with key local stakeholders to provide information, know-how and support to other leaders in Westchester so they can take the same steps,” Latimer said. “This work could not be done without dedicated efforts from our Office of Energy and Sustainability in conjunction with members of the Westchester community. We only have one planet and it will take collective actions to save it.”

The discussion will provide school districts and community members an opportunity to engage with experts about the benefits of going electric and information on purchasing electric school buses for Westchester County school districts. The newest research states children who ride on diesel buses area at a higher risk of lung disease, i.e. asthma, bronchitis, and cancer.

Mothers Out Front is a national movement to take action on climate change and work towards a just transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. The Westchester teams are working on campaigns to avoid fossil fuels in new construction, switch from diesel to electric school buses, and encourage civic engagement.

Mothers Out Front Volunteer Megan Dyer said: “When members of Mothers Out Front learned that emissions from our beloved Yellow School buses made up a quarter of the transportation greenhouse gas emissions in the US, we realized we could make a contribution to mitigating the climate crisis for our kids—fast. At 8.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, transitioning to electric would make a massive positive impact, in addition to achieving cost savings and improving the air quality for our students. We urge all our Westchester and Putnam County School Officials to attend the January 27th online event that could make a real difference in the finances for our public schools and give our students hope for a livable climate.”

This webinar will present a panel of speakers to include:

County Executive George Latimer
White Plains School District – discussing their use of electric buses
Croton-Harmon School District – sharing their process to get voter approval and apply for state grants
CALSTART on behalf of NYSERDA – regarding state grant opportunities
NY Power Authority – regarding services they can provide to the schools
Con Edison – regarding services they can provide to the schools
Croton 100 – calculating the cost-effectiveness of switching to electric

This online forum brings together county school districts and community members to build momentum for the transition to clean, healthy, electric fleets, identifying potential solutions, and opportunities for collaboration and advocacy, to help achieve them.