Ongoing
70%
Almost 70% of the 50,000 school buses in Canada run on diesel, while there are only around 900 electric school buses, or less than 2% of the total of its fleet.
Dunsky Energy + Climat (2023), Pathways for Canadian Electric School Bus Adoption.
With road transport responsible for 25% of the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the electrification of school transport has the potential to make a significant contribution to improving Canada's record on climate change but could also reduce air and noise pollution for the 2.2 million children who use school buses.
It's been 85 years since the famous North American yellow bus first appeared on our road. In the context of the climate crisis, the time has come for Canada to adopt ambitious and sufficient political measures to electrify its fleet of 50,000 school buses.
“ To enable our children to breathe healthier air on a daily basis, our governments should speed up this transition. ”
Drawing on its expertise in transportation electrification and public policy, notably through its My Electric Bus campaign, Équiterre has joined forces with Green Communities Canada to create Canada's first electric school bus coalition.
The Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance (CESBA) unites stakeholders from the school and transportation electrification sectors across the country around a common vision: to electrify 100% of school buses in Canada by 2040.
Équiterre makes this vision a reality by influencing public policy and highlighting more equitable and sustainable practices that have the potential to accelerate the climate, health and economic benefits delivered by the electrification of school transportation.
Accelerating the decarbonization of school transportation in Canada
Visit the websiteBuild a network of organizations involved in the electrification of school transportation across Canada and North America.
Promote the sharing of knowledge and best practices in school bus electrification.
Raise awareness among school transportation stakeholders on the social and environmental justice issues involved in the transition to electric school buses.
Advance political action on school bus electrification at federal and provincial levels.
Since it was launched in 2022, the Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance has mobilized numerous organizations from different sectors through its events and research activities.
40+ members across Canada
7 webinars on themes such as environmental justice
5 reports published
The Alliance publishes the first edition of Canada’s Electric School Bus Report Card,a comparative assessment of progress toward electrifying school bus fleets across Canadian provinces and territories.
The Alliance publishes a new edition of its recommendations report Powering Up: The Path to Electric School Bus Adoption in Canada
The Alliance publishes the first edition of its recommendations report Accelerating Electric School Bus Adoption in Canada.
The Alliance is holding its conference Electrifying Canada's School Bus Fleet: Issues, Realities and Solutions, bringing together participants from across Canada at four events.
The Alliance unveils its study Pathways for Canadian Electric School Bus Adoption, produced by Dunsky Energy + Climat.
A new website has been launched, featuring a library of resources on electric school buses.
Équiterre and Green Communities Canada unveil the Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance.
“ Transport is the second-largest source of GHG emissions in Canada, and the electrification of school bus fleets is a decarbonization pathway that is available now to help achieve the significant emission reductions needed to meet our 2030 targets. We look forward to working with the Alliance to accelerate adoption and deliver the environmental, economic and health benefits that electric school buses can offer to communities across the country. ”
“ The Trottier Family Foundation is proud to lend its support to help bring together a wide range of stakeholders to promote the deployment of electric school buses nationwide. We are confident that the Alliance will help accelerate the best policies and practices needed so that every region of the country can reduce its transportation-related emissions, while fostering a healthier future for our children. ”
CESBA is coordinated by Green Communities Canada, with the support of Équiterre and under the direction of a committee made up of a number of Canadian non-profit organizations involved in the electrification of school transportation.
Including its steering committee, CESBA has more than 40 member organizations across Canada. They come from a variety of sectors, including research, education, health, the environment and advocacy.
To ensure the independence of CESBA, organizations offering private services related to electric school buses are not eligible for membership.
CESBA is targeting Canada as a whole, with a particular focus on provinces that have very few electric school buses and where the gains from such a transition would be greatest: Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
CESBA is working on three fronts. The first involves mobilizing and raising awareness among stakeholders involved in the electrification of school transport. This includes holding meetings with members, organizing events and creating educational content.
The second part involves developing research, particularly into the social and environmental justice issues associated with electric school buses. Two research reports are planned for the period 2024-2026.
Government relations is the final component of CESBA. This includes meetings with elected officials and civil servants at federal and provincial levels, and the development of policy recommendations to accelerate the transition to electric school buses.
Although active transport is not at the forefront of CESBA's work, our vision is based on the ‘RTI’ approach: reducing the distance and frequency of journeys, transferring to more sustainable modes of transport (such as walking and cycling) and, finally, improving the impact of transport activities (such as electrification).
In fact, our strategy and actions are based on a series of five principles, one of which is to support initiatives that improve air quality and the health of people using school transport, as well as promoting active transport for children. But since it is not always possible to walk or cycle to school for a variety of reasons, the school bus remains the second-best travel option.
It is in this context that CESBA is working to limit the negative impact of this mode of transport on the environment and health through its electrification. Few organizations are working to promote the electrification of school transport in Canada, while many are already looking at the issue of active school transport.
Lifecycle analysis studies of electric vehicles (EVs), such as electric school buses (ESBs), indicate that the greater impacts during the manufacture of EVs are minimal compared with those avoided by petrol and diesel, which are not produced or burnt.
In the case of ESBs, several factors help to reduce the environmental impact of their manufacturing. Firstly, the majority of ESBs circulating across the country are manufactured in Canada, which reduces the GHG emissions associated with transporting the vehicles.
Secondly, when ESBs reach the end of their life and since there is a strong demand for batteries, those ESB batteries can be put to other uses or recycled, which reduces the demand for new batteries.
Finally, although this is not yet a well-developed sector in Canada, there are companies that specialize in converting diesel buses into electric models, which reduces the manufacturing footprint of ESBs (excluding the battery).
Director, Government Relations
maviau@equiterre.org
Made possible by the support of the Trottier Family Foundation and its partners the Consecon Foundation and the Echo Foundation, this project is coordinated and implemented by Équiterre in collaboration with Green Communities Canada.
