Is it the dawn of electric vehicles? Can the New York Department of Education enhance environmental sustainability and reduce income unfairness? Yes, it is possible, especially with the coordination of electric school bus workers and the citizens residing in the city.
Nevertheless, it will be brilliant, if the school bus workers operate and own a school bus company with a goal to green the city. For this reason, the city has already organized an electric school bus worker cooperative, which combines elected officials, transportation and environmental advocates.
However, the ownership of the cooperative belongs to the New York City Bus Drivers and obtained funds by creating a contract for the Education Department’s existing school bus routes.
As a matter of fact, a union entitled “Transportation Workers Union Local 100” that represents city bus and train operators, is planning to endow ownership of the school bus company to the workers, with a motive to green the city and reduce the hazardous fuel emission into the atmosphere.
Working of the Cooperative
How the cooperative operates?
The worker cooperative will be operated by a board, which is elected by bus operators. Also, the board has special reservations for parents.
In spite of earning profits for the corporation, the cooperative will also assist to increase the wages by the unified efforts of employees and boost the dignity of the workplace. This will enable the cooperative to render an effortless service and augment the quality of rides for students.
Moreover, the current New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have already expressed their desire to create worker co-operatives.
Meanwhile, the Department of Small Business Services has already established the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative by receiving 3 million dollars from the City Council for enlightening, supporting, and developing worker cooperative businesses. Hence, it is the right time for committing this initiative.
Objective – Apart from enhancing the labor relations, the electric school bus worker cooperative also enables you to sustain the environment and safeguard the health of New York citizens.
Dominant Reason for Pollution
Diesel buses adversely affect the environment. There is no requirement of scientific journals for recognizing its terrible consequences of running diesel buses, since the fact is apparent in its tailpipe, which emit pernicious and brown soot over the roadways and into our lungs.
The black carbon and nitrogen oxide transmitted from diesel school buses are hazardous for the environment and perturb children, whose lungs are still at a developing stage.
In fact, the New York city is ranked among the top 25 polluted cities for ozone and year-round particle pollution, as per the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report. This indicates there is increased chance for dreadful air days and asthma for New York residents.
Furthermore, it was estimated that 2 million people in the New York area are having asthma, which includes half a million children.
How to Secure Students from Pollution?
Students are transported on outmoded and fume-emitting school buses right from the age of 3 or 4 years. Now, you can imagine how distressing the situation is. Henceforth, this ghastly circumstance will not repeat in the year 2018.
What will be the reason? Today’s hygienic technologies have the capability to reduce pollution and safeguard the health.
Unluckily, New York’s electricity comes from coal and while charging the electric school buses, it will result in pollution, especially due to greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which induce global warming.
However, the city and state government is planning to modify the energy portfolio by means of wind and solar power, which ultimately reduces the carbon footprint and air pollution emitted to the atmosphere.
Future Programs
Today, the city has an immense opportunity to transform the energy portfolio into a reality. Exclaiming how?
Recently, the Education Department has divulged a request for 1600 bus routes to be operated by transportation companies with a five-year contract. As a result, companies can present their proposals until Feb 22, 2018.
Of course, it is wise to grant these bids to those school bus providers, who declared to operate zero-emission electric vehicles and have a goal of worker empowerment.
As a consequence, a multitude of democrats approached Transport Workers Union (TWU) and environmental advocates for allocating 25 bus routes to electric bus operators. Although 25 is a minor part of 1,600, but it can eventually pave the way to an admirable future.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, by unnecessarily burning oils, you are ruining the environment. Therefore, it is wise to invest in vehicles that is environment-friendly and thus prioritize the safety of citizens above everything.
In the meantime, the aforementioned pilot program will certainly provide an immense assistance to accomplish the commitment of the Bill de Blasio administration to defend climate change and empowering employees.
