Electric buses are popping up all across Atlantic Canada: Halifax has 60 electric transit buses, Fredericton now has 10 hybrid transit buses, Saint John and St. John’s both have several electric transit buses, and New Brunswick has 28 electric school buses on the road this school year. Communities and provinces are slowly making this switch as they grapple with rising fuel costs, climate change, and public health crises. Both buses and electrification address these problems in meaningful ways.
One of the most significant advantages of electric buses is their impact on air quality and lung health. Traditional diesel buses emit a range of harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter. These pollutants degrade air quality and have been linked to respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, and even lung cancer.
Children are especially vulnerable, with their developing lungs, many of whom commute to and from school on a diesel school bus twice a day. Because electric buses produce zero tailpipe emissions, every diesel bus replaced by an electric one directly reduces the amount of harmful substances released into the air they breathe.
Children riding diesel school buses are exposed to higher levels of pollution than the surrounding environment, breathing in exhaust both outside and inside the bus, made worse in high-traffic areas like school loading & drop off zones. Some electric school buses have auxiliary diesel heaters to allow the battery to manage longer routes – these heaters burn about 32X less fuel than a full diesel-powered bus during the same time idling. Approximately 225,000 children take the bus to and from school every day in Atlantic Canada – with the exposure to vehicle pollution increasing their risk of lung and heart disease.
Right now, our roads are loud, often full of traffic and fumes from gas and diesel vehicles, as most New Brunswickers commute in private vehicles. In the summer, higher temperatures trap air pollution at ground level where we breathe. Prioritizing buses means affordable, reliable, sustainable transportation for everyone. Electrifying the bus systems will create clean, healthy, and calm livable communities with fewer cars on the road.
Here’s How You Can Help:
NB Lung is championing the electrification of school bus fleets and we’re looking for your support – Join NB Lung and concerned community members across Atlantic Canada in signing this petition to support electric school buses in your province.
Click here to add your support for investments in public transit. NB Lung is encouraging the New Brunswick government to invest in public transit for the health, environmental, and economic benefits of the province.