Photo: Courtesy of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The first round of electric school buses has arrived to Boston Public Schools for implementation, something Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper celebrated together on Monday.
The two buses are the first of 20 that are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and will be put to use once students are back from February break. This is just the start; city officials say they plan to use funds from the Environmental Protections Agency and Inflation Reduction Act to expand BPS' arsenal of electric vehicles.
“Today is one of many steps we are taking to make Boston a Green New Deal city and to move with the urgency that our communities and residents deserve. From cutting down on emissions from every part of our education infrastructure," Wu said.
Back in April of 2022, Mayor Wu announced that the 20 buses would be coming to BPS as part of a Green New Deal for the City of Boston.
Read More: Boston Students To Learn Maintenance For Incoming Electric School Buses
“As a City, we know we must prioritize the development of electric vehicle infrastructure to support the future of green mobility in Boston to advance our Green New Deal for all of our residents,” said Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia.
The routes these new buses will take has been mapped out intricately, servicing some of the 111 trips across 42 schools that BPS sees. Those designations will be based off route distance, traffic patterns, with a preference to be used in stop-and-go traffic as opposed to highway driving.
WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.
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