The iconic North American yellow school bus has been transporting our children to school since the 1930s, powered almost exclusively by fossil fuels. Now, more than 80 years later and in the midst of a global climate and health crisis, the Canadian school bus sector is facing a major technological shift to convert from diesel to electric power.

School buses are a significant part of Canada’s transport sector, which overall contributes 25% of Canada’s total GHG emissions. Transport is one of the remaining two industrial sectors whose emissions have steadily continued to increase over the last 30 years. These very same school buses that put our children on the road to academic success, are also diminishing their chances at a bright and clean future, through air and noise pollution, and emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs).

The time has come for Canada to accelerate the electrification of all 51,000 diesel school buses and contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment for our children — for the sake of today’s and tomorrow’s youth.