##VIDEO ID:8IX192SGL-E## [Music] great to see everyone here um my name is Oliver sers Garcia I am mayor W's Green New Deal director and commissioner of the environment Department on behalf of Mayor woo let me welcome you to the uh BPS Dorchester Welcome Center we are so excited here to be talking about a new $35 million Grant from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency for electric school buses woo that's right this is just one of many announcements over the past few years of the W Administration to bring electric school buses to Boston's Fleet with a commitment to make it all electric and this is just a phenomenal partnership with the federal government we've got some great speakers that I'm going to introduce as we go along and they'll tell you more about this important announcement and what a huge difference it's making for our community so first I'd like to welcome our wonderful superintendent Mary Skipper good afternoon everyone um again just such an exciting time for us as we continue uh to fulfill our vision of making our entire bus fleet electric by 2030 um this in particular just a big thank you to the mayor and again congratulations on Mia being born uh class of 2043 BPS we're really excited about that uh already counting those years um but today you know we we really are through the mayor's Vision coming much closer to electrifying our Fleet uh we will this Grant from the EPA of 35 million will allow us to have 125 new buses of 30 passengers and that's an incredible step forward for us uh it means that by 2025 uh we will have 95 electric buses and by 2026 220 and so forth as we get closer to that 2030 it's so important for us that we're transporting our students in a safe reliable and clean way and uh you know the electric the electrification of the fleet is certainly reducing uh relative to the climate the pollution the noise and it's just a much safer and smoother ride if you've ever ridden on the electric buses um there's so many people to thank but certainly today represents the coming together of EPA uh in administrative cach uh of eversource uh with r Rooney uh and certainly for our state and our federal Partners uh is they really helped to make this dream come true for us uh we have several students that you're going to hear from uh Paulina who is at bla and Ma who is at Brighton and I can't say enough about our young people in their advocacy and their you know concern and education around the climate um so I'm interested to have you be able to hear directly from them and the importance of this step for us I'd also like to shout out Dan Rosengard who's our executive director for transportation under Dan's leadership and vision we've made so many steps forward in our transportation really bringing it into the 21st century with technology and this is another step forward as we Electrify uh again this couldn't be possible if we weren't in a city that cared deeply with a mayor that cares deeply about this and so today truly is a celebration in such a powerful way of what BPS will be now and in the future thanks to this partnership so thank you very much thank you for coming and uh we'll look forward to our students being able to speak soon thank you so much superintendent so I'm very excited to welcome our EP PA region one administrator David cash I've known David since at least his D Days several more than a decade ago and um all of the work that he's brought to EPA in his tenure is really just to too much to summarize but the the particular focus on energy and climate justice has just been such a wonderful uh benefit to both the region and to the city of Boston and I believe as a former teacher this is near and dear to his heart as well well so we thank you so much for all your work David thank you so much Oliver it's great to be here and uh um this is a Bittersweet moment for me it's always incredibly exciting to be at these celebrations where the Investments we have in communities in green jobs in clean air in a healthy climate and most importantly in our student and kids is celebrated but I think as some of you know this is actually my last public event um I leave my service my federal service on on Monday at noon and uh leaving it in the hands of phenomenal EPA staff and I want to give a shout out EPA staff that are here please raise your hand raise your hand you know I uh I get to come up here and celebrate uh but it's really the work of the staff that gets the job done those of you who write the grants talk with our program officers implement the grants follow through and Report it's all the incredible working of our expert staff at EPA that uh who are dedicated to protecting human health and the environment it's been an honor to to work with all of those uh all those staff members and it's been a particular honor to work with the partners we have at at state and local levels uh you know we're in a in a country in which the those Partnerships are so critical to get the job done and uh Boston and mayor woo and her team of environment and transportation and climate leaders are just phenomenal so thank you so much your vision your thoughtfulness has been fantastic uh also I know they're not represented here but the Congressional Delegation here in Massachusetts and here in the Boston area have been huge champions for this funding because they know the importance of uh of clean air they know the importance for kids and it was Oliver mentioned I was a teacher I was I was a teacher out in the amoris public schools and one of my duties was bus duty at the end of the day so I would stand on the curb as bus after bus after bus came and I would Breathe In Those stinky diesel fumes and it reminded me then of when I was a kid going to public school and I'd sit on the corner wait for the bus and the bus would come and there'd be stinky diesel fuels fumes and this investment in these buses in those buses over there and the charging stations that are over there are going to be what brings us into a new era so kids don't have to stand on the corner breathing in stinky harmful diesel fumes their parents don't have to worry teachers don't have to worry bus drivers don't have to worry the people who work in the bus depot don't have to worry that's the future that we're work working toward and if we think of the components in these buses the batteries the software all of those kinds of things are now being built manufactured in this country good union jobs that are driving the Clean Energy Future that's what we're working for right now and it's incredibly exciting to celebrate President Biden and vice president Harris is investing in America agenda that's what this is about investing in communities and jobs and it's particularly exciting I can't wait to hear the students no offense to all of you but at these events it's the students that are always the most wonderful to listen to so looking forward to that uh we're announcing as was mentioned by the superintendent a grant finalized last week under epa's in inflation reduction act clean heavy doodle Vehicles program awarding $35 million for 125 new buses that's phenomenal but let's talk about Boston leadership this is on top of awards made under epa's bipartisan infrastructure law clean School Bus program which awarded Boston $20 million for 50 buses in May of 2024 but wait there's more there were also two Awards in August of 2024 under epa's diesel emissions reduction act program with a combined $4 million to purchase 20 buses but wait there's more because Boston has been a leader even before EPA started investing and already had invested in 40 electric school buses so we're now over 200 school buses so excited across the country the clean heavy doodle vehicle program has selected 70 applicants in 27 States so Boston's number one of those three tribal nations in one territory totaling over $735 million nationally will mean 2400 diesel buses taken off the roads replaced with zero emission ones and that means less uh less pollution local pollution fewer triggers of asthma by the way I don't know if you know this but we're in a zip code in which has one of the in which there's some of the highest asthma rates in the state right so again we're talking about parents that don't have to worry about their kid having an asthma attack and rushing to the emergency room and they won't just help keep the local air clean we know that this will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help fight climate change so today we thank teachers we thank the administrators of the school district we thank everyone in mayor Woo's office who have been working assiduously to solve this problem and seize the opportunities of investing in America and that's what this is all about thank you very much thank you so much David and next I'd like to welcome uh director of transportation for Boston Public Schools Daniel Rosengard and I just want to thank you and your team for the incredible work that you've done we're what you're going to see is these buses and you hear the big numbers of the awards but really it takes so much work to get this actually to happen and that I think is the difference between Boston and so many other cities we're really making it work so thank you Dani thank thank you everyone thank you superintendent administrator cash Oliver again my name is Dan Rosengard executive director of transportation for Boston Public Schools I want to start just by echoing others thanks for our our many many partners who have worked together over the past several years to build out our electric school bus fleet we started this work over 3 years ago with a highly ambitious goal of fully electrifying our Fleet by 2030 but we've had many unknowns about how we were going to turn that Vision into a reality and through the work of our many partners over the past several years we've built out a 40 bus strong electric Fleet that is on the road every day transporting students to and from schools successfully and for that work that we've already done I want to thank first mayor woo and superintendent skipper for their support and guidance eversource electric utility for working with us to upgrade the electric infrastructure at our bus yards transdev and their our bus drivers our trainers our mechanics our Fleet managers and the many other staff who work tirelessly to make Transportation run every single day our labor Partners including the ibw local 103 the usw local 8751 the Teamsters Local 25 and the UAW local 1596 the Boston Green New Deal coalition our advisers from the World Resources Institute wri the Massachusetts clean energy center the Massachusetts Department of energy resources and that's just some there's others as well so as you can see this has truly been a collaborative effort and together we have proven that we can make a clean Fleet a reality in Boston the $35 million clean heavy duty vehicle grant that we celebrate today will allow us to make another huge step forward in that effort supporting the purchase of an additional 125 30 passenger electric school buses that will be added to our Fleet in the coming years this grant represents more than a doubling of the Investments that we've made to date in Greening our Fleet and it will help ensure that our students our bus drivers and our bus monitors are able to get two and from school every day in a clean energy bus with a smooth quiet ride and improving everyone's Health lastly I want to thank again the EPA and the clean heavy duty Vehicles program for making this possible thank you David cash the EPA region one administrator who is here with us as a as a former science teacher I'm sure he understands how important it is to make sure students arrive at School in a clean energy bus and ready to learn every day and just in closing I want to reiterate why we do this work we do this for the health and well-being of Boston's students and Boston's communities and with each new electric bus on the road we are creating a healthier future for our students in our community so thank you again thank you so much Dan now I'm very excited to welcome up to the Podium Jackson janvier who is a transdev uh bus driver trainer thank you hi everybody my name is Jackson jaier I'm one of the trainers of for thday by BPS so we uh our job is uh to help the drivers to get the job done um both on train them on the BS and help them to get a certification massachus said every year the driver need 8 hours in service before they renew the SC certification so our job is that help them on the bus P accident return to return to work from leave or medical leave and them the new U New U bus electric so because he work kind of different than the regular bses and basically um any any any question related to uh licenses and and um training is a part of our job uh collaboration with the uh safety safety safety um Department thank you thank you Jackson and now I'm very excited to um welcome Paulina Mendes Javier who's a Boston Latin Academy senior up um hello everyone good afternoon my name is Paulina Mendes Javier a senior at Boston L Academy and I'm here today acting as a representative of the Boston student advisory Council um I wanted to talk about one of you know the first critical steps that Boston is taking to ensure the future of our city and that is the transition to electronic buses our current Transportation infrastructure though functional is not without its faults although gas powerered buses are useful to us they still contribute heavily to pollution clogging our Airways with harmful emissions that make urban life harder for both people as well as Wildlife every day we breathe in toxins that could be avoided and every day we end closer to an irreversible environmental damage the adaption of electric buses is more than just a technological upgrade it's a commitment to cleaner air quieter streets and a healthier environment for generations to come it's one of the first steps that we need to take to not only preserve the longevity of our city but to build a more sustainable future by embracing Green Transportation we can reduce emissions lower noise pollution as well as move towards a more sustainable way of life we have power to make our city as well as Beyond a better place and so I believe that better buses make a better City for all um thank you that's that's [Applause] all thank you so much and finally I'd like to ask Manor a right in high school sophomore to come up and say a few last words for [Applause] us good afternoon everyone my name is mahanor I am a sophomore at the Brian High and a representative of the Boston student advisory Council today I'm here to talk about why do we actually need electric buses and why are they so important so as we know the first major problem of the environment is air pollution and electric buses uh are a good way to decrease the air pollution because unlike the traditional buses that run on diesel they do not emit any harmful gases to the environment so it's not about the Innovation but the creation of sustainable future for oursel and our future Generations since our environment is becoming so polluted and we have to do something to save it by supporting electric buses we are supporting cleaner air and a better quality of life electric buses are not just a smart choice but they are the right choice for us and thank you so much for funding $35 [Applause] million I'd want to thank uh all of our speakers students staff leadership from uh the the city and federal government I I think what you've heard is really from a lot of different perspectives painting one picture about how something that is perhaps originated from funding related to climate is catalyzing so much in Boston it has to do with cleaning our environment creating more Comfort improving quality of life the manufacturing and operation and maintenance of these vehicles is an opportunity for skills and new careers there's so much that climate investment can do and I think in Boston we've really shown under the Biden Administration how much we've been able to do the the grants that administrator cash mentioned are just a portion the city of Boston has received near nearly $150 million of funding from the inflation reduction act and bipartisan infrastructure law the flagship funding that was available to States and municipalities Nos and Private Industry from the Biden Administration we've really shown what a municiple partner looks like when federal and state uh government really work together and I will just say cuz I can't help but notice the the details here all of these Investments that have come in in charging stations and buses there's another provision in the inflation reduction act that allows us to claim tax credits that will bring even more funding back from those Investments to continue doing this work this is really what all levels of government look like together working on climate and as I've mentioned all of the different other benefits that come from that so I just can't thank you enough on behalf of Mayor woo for not only making this happen from the small details to the big funding thank you so much if there's any other questions related to this particular topic we'd be happy to take them now Eric um so I know you said that yall have gotten nearly $150 million under the Biden Administration from the IRA and the bip partis infrastructure act um any concern on your part about you know obviously with a change in administrations happening Monday do you feel that this grant coming very late um not necessarily late but very close to the change in administration uh is secure do you feel that it's secure um as administrator cash pointed out this one is signed so we're feeling very comfortable city of Boston has done a great job in finalizing their grants okay and then a followup question on that mentioning the IRA tax credit um what would it mean if that tax credit um was revoked under the administration it's uh the inflation reduction act by the numbers is actually more tax credits than direct funds if you look at it overall to all recipients that includes private sector as well that's one of the most important parts of the legislation so we really need to fight for that D Barbera two questions if all these buses come in what percentage of the fleet I think I have a number but I'll let Dan give you more details uh so right now we have 40 electric buses on the on the road uh we'll be bringing in another about 55 this summer and then this will bring another 125 so after that we'd be at 220 buses out of about 740 in our Fleet so I don't know the exact percentage I think that's like someone could tell me it's about 25 30% and um it it does seem like you got a lot of funding from the IRA and Bill for for these do you anticipate more funding coming from the federal government out of the next Administration we're hopeful but let's be realistic about what the uh priorities have been what we do know is that the Biden administration's funding both from Grants and um tax incentives has really created an industry for this and we really feel that this is a can I make the pun this is a bust that's already moving so I really think it's something that's going to continue um how uh how much do each bus cost and then how do you get the rest of the way there you a question fors about $320,000 for these bues for for the that 30 passenger bus okay and then um so total you'll have 220 out of the 740 right plan how do you get the rest beyond that yep so we're you know we're going to continue to explore kind of all available funding opportunities whether they're you know any federal grants that are exist as well as state grants um you know as well as just the operating funds that the city puts in every year towards towards Fleet replacement but it's something that we you know we definitely still need to to look and explore every op every Avenue maybe give a sense of the to three one traditional oh sure yeah yes and so just for uh the super um mention I think just for for context and and a little bit of you know um comparison uh an electric bus right now costs about Triple A you know a diesel bus um you know we expect that to continue to come down in the coming years and there's also you know um lower maintenance costs anticipated over the life of the bus where we hope to you know make up a lot of the difference as well if I could make a a general comment in in response to that question which is about the whole point of these investments in the inflation reduction act and bipar and infrastructure law in these new technologies is to catalyze the development of of uh this new kind of technology that has huge public benefits that are not taken into account in the cost of diesel buses and diesel fuel right and so the whole point is to make this big upfront um investment by the federal government it's a perfectly appropriate where place for government to play a role and the cost will come down because volume of the the manufacturer these buses is going to go up technology is going to be innovated costs are going to come down for Batteries costs are going to come down for components all of those kinds of things all the while uh uh growing jobs in the United States and the price of these will all come down and we've seen this time and time again 15 years ago when we started the solar revolution in in Massachusetts the price of Solar was was really high it was an important point for Massachusetts to invest and the price of Solar has come down and come down and come down so that it's incredibly competitive that's what we're going to see here and all the while we're going to be seeing kids who are driving these school buses and bus drivers and the teachers and parents all breathing cleaner air so that that's the whole point of these kinds of Investments technical questions um are all the buses like new electric buses are you doing any like conversions is that a thing and what happens to the that's a that's a fantastic question actually um under one of the grants that administer cash mentioned the diesel emissions reduction act Grant um one of the $2 million grants we received will go towards uh repowering buses so refurbishing you know propane buses into a um battery powered or electric powered bus so I think the the first of those buses actually we expect to be on the road this school year and then we'll continue to expand from there as well so looking at that [Music]