The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is giving more than $3 million in rebates to replace 210 older dirty diesel school buses with new ones that are more than 90% cleaner, reducing pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that are linked to health problems including asthma and lung damage.
Seventy-six school bus fleets in 30 states will receive taxpayer money through EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding to replace school buses. Since 2008, the DERA program has funded more than 600 clean diesel projects across the country. These projects have reduced emissions for more than 60,000 dirty diesel engines.
Older dirty diesel engines emit large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants are linked to health problems, including aggravated asthma, lung damage, and other serious health problems.
Applicants were randomly selected and placed in order on a list until a total of $3 million was allocated. This was EPA’s second round of the rebate program aimed at replacing older diesel school buses. Public and private school bus fleets were eligible to apply for rebates for the replacement of school buses with engine model years of 2006 or older.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
