Can the grid keep school buses powered up across the South Shore, and can school districts afford them?
These two questions are addressed in four stories by reporters Deborah Williams and the Dean of Reporters in Long Island, Bob Chartuk.
There is a government mandate from New York state that forces school districts to switch over to electric powered buses. This is going to cost millions upon millions of dollars with taxpayers footing the bill.
In the Big Apple, Green New Deal loving leftists thought it would be a great idea to throw a snowplow on electric powered garbage trucks in order to clear streets of heavy snow. This is quite common for diesel powered vehicles. This way trucks can engage in “double duty” of picking up garbage and snow removal.
The results were disastrous for those in favor of going “all electric.” Keep in mind, the Big Apple wants to go to an all electric fleet by 2040.
After two hours of plowing, the electric sanitation truck used for snow plowing had to stop in order to recharge. These trucks need to plow snow for 12 hours per shift, not two or even four.
The electric trucks couldn’t handle the cold, the grid can’t charge them fast enough, and the technology just doesn’t exist right now to justify the cost of going to eclectic plows and garbage trucks.
There’s two serious concerns to be addressed before New York State wanting to flip the switch to all electric buses, the same exact issues NYC experienced with their electric garbage truck experiment.
There’s no way to know if “the grid” can handle charging thousands upon thousands of electric buses across Long Island and New York State. There’s also a massive cost involved that will absolutely be passed down to the taxpayer.
What happens in the dead of winter when batteries on electric buses die? What happens when the grid can’t sufficiently charge buses in order for kids to be picked up from school? What happens when your tax bill doubles or triples when a state mandate forces your district to switch to an all electric fleet?
Families get screwed financially, kids will be stuck on buses or at the bus stop with no way of getting them home, or there will be mass class cancellations due to electric buses sitting in garages.
I agree with elected leaders who believe New York should put the brakes on the electric bus mandate until all of these major concerns can be addressed.
Already struggling taxpayers cannot afford to be hit with even higher taxes in the People’s Republic of New York. School Districts should not be forced to spend millions of dollars on an inferior product that will keep kids out of the classroom.
Take your time. Do it right. Phase in electric buses slowly, when the grid can handle it sufficiently, and when we know with 100% certainty that these buses can handle harsh winters and get kids to school safely and timely throughout the entire year.