This article is the first in a series highlighting the experiences of the Arts Based School with their electric bus. Stay tuned for more.
The Triad Cultural Arts Juneteenth Festival held in Winston-Salem, NC was a celebration of freedom and community. The SACE team was fortunate to partner with the changemakers at Piedmont Environmental Alliance to showcase The Arts Based School’s electric bus. To put it mildly, the bus was a hit!
Hop on the Electric Bus
As part of giving back to the community, ABS provided hands-on learning for the day by bringing the bus. It’s one thing to talk about a technology, but a completely different experience when community members have the chance to get on an electric bus and hear how quiet it runs!
Parents and grandparents were shocked to learn that while we were talking on the bus about the health and climate benefits of electric school buses, it was running. That’s because the electric motor on an ESB, unlike roaring diesel engines, is so quiet, you can have a thoughtful conversation on one. In fact, the only exception to the festival goers enjoying the concert was when one cheeky child found the bus’s horn and really had fun adding to the soundtrack!
At the event, “little kids,” too young to ride a bus to school, were pumped to step aboard and talk with the bus driver, Mr. Charles, about the electric bus. Some were even brave enough to sit in the driver’s seat.
Next Stop: Great Conversations
Many families were excited to learn electric school buses are even a thing, much less that one has been ferrying local kids daily to and from school and on field trips for over three years now. Mr. Charles, the bus driver, had a great time teaching the kids and their parents about how much better the bus handles turns than the diesel buses he used to drive. Even more importantly, he talked about how kids don’t complain about headaches caused by diesel fumes when riding the electric bus.
He had the brilliant idea to put the hood up to show off where an engine would be. This prompted a concerned woman to come over because she thought he was having engine trouble, but it sparked a great conversation, ironically, about the significant maintenance savings (time and cost) with electric school buses. It was one of many meaningful exchanges throughout the day.
Games and Summer Reading
We asked kids to find the tailpipe (it was a funny game, as electric buses don’t have one). It’s amazing how quickly kids understood why there isn’t a need for one when we explained the idea that electricity powers the bus instead of burning diesel that needs a pipe to release the gas.
We handed out copies of the tween book, Wildfire, from the Battle of the Books summer reading list, which delighted one young participant. “This book is by my favorite author. I can’t wait to read this, thank you,” he chirped with joy.
It’s so funny how the same kids that have to be dragged out of bed for the school day are like bees to a flower for a big yellow school bus, even during the summer. One mom, whose kids attend the Arts Based School, had a hard time peeling her kids off the bus and explained to me, “This is literally the bus they ride to school every single day. You’d think it would be old, but they’re so excited about it.” As a public health practitioner, she was already keenly aware of and personally grateful that her kids and community are getting the health benefits that come with a zero-emission bus.
We even caught up with a former student of the ABS, Tahleah Brim, who was bummed she graduated before they got the electric bus but was really excited for the kids who get to ride it now. In fact, every person we talked with throughout the day supported electric school buses and was eager to learn more.
Familiarity Breeds Comfort
The big yellow bus is an iconic part of the American school experience. The school bus fleet is the largest mass transportation system in our country, using around 500,000 buses to move 26 million students on any given school day. And the affection for them could be felt at the Juneteenth event. Kids and families are drawn to the “magic” of the school bus. That is why the opportunity for the community to engage firsthand with electric technology that looks similar but functions so much better is critically important.
When we talked to families, we addressed some of the technical details like how electrifying the nation’s entire school bus fleet would save 800 million gallons of diesel from being burned. How completing the transition would lead to school districts saving roughly $3.78 billion annually in fuel costs. And how electrifying would result in eliminating approximately 5.3 to 8 million tons of carbon pollution each year. While those statistics are important, most families were more impressed with the health benefits electric buses offer to their child. These personal teaching touchpoints matter and help us build an informed community willing to say that every child deserves a healthy ride to school. Full stop, with the stop sign on the bus out!
This article is the first in a series highlighting the experiences of the Arts Based School with their electric bus. Stay tuned for more.
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