Cabell County Schools receives grant for low emission buses

CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Cabell County schools received a one-hundred-fifty thousand dollar grant for their efforts to clean up emissions from their buses.

”These are buses that are from 2003 to 2008 models, and the technology and everything, they’ve cut down quite a bit on the emissions,” Cabell County Schools director of Transportation said.

Cabell County schools replaced five older model buses with newer models with cleaner engines, and received a 150k grant from the Department of Environmental Protection for their work to clean up their emissions.

The check comes from a 25 percent rebate to get new buses, which saves taxpayers money while improving air quality. The money paid for another new bus.

”This allowed our money to go further, the grant would pay for one of our larger buses, one of our new transit buses.”

Many students are on or around buses every day, sometimes multiple times a day. These efforts can hopefully make those times a little cleaner, officials say.

”It’s certainly a better environment for our students to be transported to and from school and be around at the schools, and our community in general to have a smaller carbon footprint.”

DEP officials say the new bus models significantly reduce exposure to chemicals and particulate matter, which can contain dirt and soot.

”I think that’s a step in the right direction and one we’ll continue to do and one we’ll continue to work through in the future.”

Their next goal is to eventually get all of their buses to the new models with lower emissions, and one day implement more electric buses.

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