Reider and others talk buses

bushearing032: Reider and others talk busesKern County Superintendent of Schools Larry E. Reider was among those who gave testimony to the California Senate Select Committee on Air Quality in the Central Valley at the county office Dec. 8. Committee chairman State Sen. Dean Florez (D) - Shafter, convened the hearing to get comments from school administrators, transportation officials, energy and pollution control officials on the topic of “Diesel School Buses and Central Valley Air Quality.”

Those who testified, during the three hour hearing, said older school buses are more air polluting than newer or retrofitted diesel buses or those that burn Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The problem, especially during the current state budget crisis, is trying to find funding to replace or retrofit existing buses.

Reider told Florez, “Kern County has one of the oldest school bus fleets in California. The average age of a Kern County school bus is almost 20-years-old. Of this number, 36.5 percent were manufactured prior to 1988 when emission standards were implemented. In addition, 14.7 percent of Kern County buses were built prior to 1977, when the landmark federal safety standards for school buses were put in place. Clearly, an increase in the number of clean burning buses would not only improve our air quality, but provide an additional measure of safety for our children.”

A presentation put together by Stephen Rhoads of the Sacramento-based School Transportation Coalition documented that California has almost 50 percent of the nation’s pre-1977 school buses. The coalition’s report indicates the state is “dead last among all the 50 states in the percentage of children that ride in school buses — just 14 percent compared to a national average of 54 percent. In the last decade the number of students increased 22 percent while the number of school buses increased by only four percent.”

The coalition’s report pointed out that “the Legislature did provide $37.5 million in 2000-01 and $12 million in 2001-02 for school bus replacement. Proposition 40 will provide $5 million this year for school bus replacement. However, the average state expenditure for the past 25 years has been less than $6 million a year, with most of those funds going to very small school districts.”

California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) Legislative Director Robert Oglesby presented the agency’s report titled “Air Resources Board School Bus Programs.” It documents that “each new CNG school bus emits 70-to-90 percent less toxic particulate matter (PM) than new diesel burning buses. Each retrofitted in-use diesel bus emits 85 percent less toxic PM with a diesel particulate filter and using low-sulfur fuel.”

In an effort to minimize the air polluting effects of older, non-retrofitted diesel school buses, the Air Resources Board in July mandated that bus idling at school sites be limited to 30 seconds and at route stops to five minutes.

Ron Garcia, superintendent of Delano Union School District, testified on the dependency of his district on school bus transportation. “School buses transport one third of our students, but it costs $125,000 for a new bus. Fiscally we suffer if students are not in school, and we are in a low income community where assessing student fees to pay for retrofitting or new buses would not work.”

One other statistic presented by the (ARB) that Florez will take back to the legislature for future consideration — California has 5,680 school buses. More than one third — 38 percent — do not meet ARB particulate standards.
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