GREENWAYS Assistant Superintendent Kevin Bultema shows one of Chico Unified’s newer school buses, much like ones on order.
greening the fleet
Photo by EvAn tuchinsky
Chico Unified gets grants to replace school buses, add electric model by
Elizabeth Castillo
W for their school bus, sometimes they’ll hear the arrival before spotting the big yelhen students wait on a street corner
Union High school districts. The grant award is up to $400,000 for the bus and $5,000 for the infrastructure—that low vehicle. Buses, which traditionally are will cover most of the cost, but will require powered by diesel fuel, can be loud and an additional $3,000 to $4,000 from CUSD obnoxious. coffers. The board approved the purchase Imagine a bus so quiet, no one may in June. The bus should be delivered by realize it’s approaching; so quiet that it’s December 2018, according to Ontiveros, equipped with an audio amplification system once it’s completed. programmed with noises like a trolley car, The electric bus will be the first of its kind just so it’ll emit running sounds. for the school district. Chrystal Ales, the air School bus manufacturer Bluebird makes quality district administrator who’s overseen such a model—an electric bus, newly Chico’s grant, said CUSD’s aging transportareleased. North Staters will soon find out tion helped earn the grant. In demonstrating how quiet it is, as Chico Unified School need, Ales explained, “they chose their oldest District has one on order. bus with the most miles on it. It was a 1987 This new bus will help CUSD reduce two diesel bus with over 400,000 miles.” types of pollution: noise and air. The goal of the grant, known as the Rural “It’s going to be basically silent,” School Bus Pilot Project, is to decrease Transportation Manager Bob Ontiveros said. greenhouse gas emissions by helping dis“This is another advantage [beyond emissions tricts accelerate the process of turning over and efficiency]—the ride will be a lot quieter.” their fleets. This program has a budget The electric bus is part of a nine-bus of $10 million and gives priority to rural upgrade for the district, with much of the areas that have less access to funding. The costs covered by California Air Resources grants. In the next Board partnered with several months, Chico the air quality district— “We’re going to be also will roll out eight which serves Humboldt, able to turn over new diesel buses. Del Norte and Trinity CUSD received almost 30 percent counties—on the grant a grant administered project. of our fleet.” by the North Coast “We’re rural, and —kevin bultema Unified Air Quality we understand what the Management District rural schools have to to purchase the electric deal with,” Ales said. bus and related infrastructure, such as buildOlder buses produce twice as much ing a charging station. Chico, along with 24 pollution as a semi-truck, Ales said. The other districts, was selected from more than pollution poses a significant health risk for 400 applicants statewide. Other local recipichildren since their respiratory systems are ents include Palermo Union and Oroville still developing.
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The state air resources board, part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, funded three studies that examined school bus passengers’ exposure to air pollutants. According to the agency, while students sit inside a diesel-fueled bus, pollution leaks into the cabin. “It’s not good for the kids, the environment or the drivers of the buses,” Ales said, noting the emissions from older buses especially. The new bus will be “zero emissions,” meaning that it will add no more pollution to the air since it’s electric. Kevin Bultema, assistant superintendent for
business services for CUSD, said the district is looking forward to having an electric bus as part of its fleet, which he described as “very old” and “outdated” overall. “It was a great opportunity that the cost of a full bus was going to be provided, and we think it’s going to be good for the environment,” he said. The district already has picked out the route: It will make stops at Little Chico Creek Elementary, Chapman Elementary and Chico High School. The electric bus can get 100 miles per charge. The district plans to charge it midday so it can extend the bus’ daily mileage. CUSD had its choice of manufacturers. Ontiveros said the district chose a Bluebird bus because of the company’s reputation for making buses. CUSD already has diesel buses from Bluebird. In the past, Bultema said, Chico Unified didn’t have the funding to replace its buses. But since the economy started to improve, the school district can dedicate more to that
effort. Grant funding from CARB helped with purchasing the diesel-fueled buses, too, Ontiveros said: Of the $175,000 price tag for each, grant money is covering $84,000. Chico’s replacement buses—expected to arrive this November— will have greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions to meet current standards, Ontiveros confirmed. As a bonus, they will offer WiFi access. Rural schools can have some of the oldest and dirtiest buses, Ales said. In Chico, Ontiveros said, the average school bus is 15 to 16 years old. The Rural School Bus Pilot Project grant allows districts to choose an electric bus, a hybrid bus or a bus that uses renewable fuel—Ales said the electric bus option has been the most popular option. “We’re excited for the opportunity,” Bultema said, adding that by leveraging both grants, “we’re going to be able to turn over almost 30 percent of our fleet.” □
ECO EVENT
MOUNTAIN BIRDING Take a leisurely hike in Butte Meadows and look for mountain birds such as woodpeckers, Pacific wrens and mountain chickadees with the Altacal Audubon Society on Saturday (Aug. 12). Meet at the Chico Park and Ride on Highway 32 at 7 a.m. with water and a packed lunch; the group will return to Chico around 2-3 p.m. Contact Matt Forster at findforster@yahoo.com or (619) 347-2269 for more information.