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An in-depth look to ecofriendly school buses
Thursday, September 25, 2008
KXAN
The Texas Clean School Bus program can issue $8 million to reimburse Texas School districts that retrofit school buses, and one of the unique buses was being showcased Thursday morning.
Sen. Kirk Watson and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioner Larry R. Soward attended the explanation and demonstration of the process by Jim Ratcliff, Lake Travis Independent School District senior director for facility construction and support services.
More than 36,000 buses carrying an estimated 1.3 million students hit the roads of Texas each school day.
A little more than one-third of these buses are more than 10 years old.
Older vehicles emit more pollution than newer models, and exposure to diesel exhaust from school buses can aggravate respiratory problems, asthma and allergies.
An easy retrofit with pollution-control devices can reduce emissions on these older buses by 70 percent to 80 percent.
Applications for reimbursements are on a first-come, first-served basis through Dec. 15.
