U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly came to Calumet City Wednesday to deliver a $1.7 million check dedicated to electric bus rollout at Elementary District 157, amid struggles with operations at Joliet’s electric school bus factory due to complications with federal subsidy rollout.
About 30 people attended the event at Schrum Memorial Middle School and had an opportunity to take a short ride on one of the two vehicles, similar in design to any classic yellow school bus. The difference, as noted by Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones, was in the sound they produce.
“I can tell you I can’t hear anything!” Jones said at a podium set up in front of one of the buses, eliciting laughter from the small crowd. “Gone are the days of school buses where you hear all the noise and you hear everything and the school buses coming.”
Sure enough, in absence of the whir of an engine, the electric buses are required to project music from exterior speakers so pedestrians and other vehicles can hear them coming. Drivers of the electric buses will have to be trained to get used to some other key differences, including quicker acceleration and braking.
“They’ve had to think about scheduling so they can be sure that they’re getting a good charge in between bus runs,” said Alfred Saucedo, U.S. EPA region chief of staff Alfred Saucedo. “But I think fundamentally, the most important thing is these are buses, drivers can drive them.”
The funding granted to Hoover-Schrum Memorial schools through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Rebate Program will go toward five zero emission buses manufactured Lion Electric, which last week announced 300 layoffs, including some at the Joliet plant.
The five new buses are expected to enter the fleet at Hoover Elementary School and Schrum Memorial Middle School sometime this fall or winter, according to John Benish Jr., chief operating officer for the Cook-Illinois Corporation, the bus contractor for District 157. Two electric buses have already been in use off and on in the district since 2019, he said.
Bloom Township High School District 206 received $10 million in EPA funding last year for 25 electric buses, which are expected to begin use in October, according to Gregory Horak, the district’s transportation director.
The electric buses are expected to prevent air pollution caused by emissions from traditional buses powered by diesel fuel. Horak said as someone who helps children board buses at the end of the school day, the immediate effect of that pollution is obvious.
“I’d be lying if those traditional fuel buses don’t pull up, and some of them are riding in the cloud of smoke,” Horak said. “You can tell that the kids, you know, when they’re getting on there, that look on their face, like, man, the smell of the exhaust … And so hopefully, that cleaner ride has a residual impact on their health and mental acuity walking in the door.”
At Wednesday’s event celebrating District 157’s funding, Kelly, a Democrat representing Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, said she can “think of no better investment” than one that prioritizes children’s health in addition to the environment.
According to EPA air quality indicators, Calumet City ranks in the 80th to 90th highest percentile for exposure to air pollution from vehicle exhaust, which is linked to asthma and other health issues, compared to other cities across the nation.
“Our children deserve to breathe clean air,” Kelly told the crowd. “By replacing old buses with electric buses that produce zero tailpipe emissions, our children will be happier and healthier. And so will the neighborhoods the bus drives through.”
As part of the federal program, use of the new buses coming to Bloom Township and Hoover-Schrum will be limited to within the dedicated districts for five years.
Representatives from both school districts said they plan to apply for additional funding to increase the number of electric vehicles they use.
“All of our students will benefit from this,” District 157 Superintendent Dwayne Evans. “The world is changing; we will no longer have carbon driven buses in our students’ lifetimes.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
