by Eileen Weber
Getting from Point A to Point B may be a little greener these days for some schools and universities. Hybrid buses are being used for transportation here in Connecticut and as far away as Wyoming.
According to
IC Bus, an Illinois-based subsidiary of Navistar, Inc., the largest manufacturer of school buses in the country, the average school bus uses over 1,700 gallons of fuel annually. The average hybrid, however, uses less than half that at 600 gallons. The hybrid buses also reduce emissions up to 40%.
Here are some other amazing statistics IC Bus would like you to know: The daily fuel cost of transporting a child to school by private vehicle costs $3.68 while the same child taking the bus only costs 73 cents; One school bus has the capacity to take 36 cars off the road, with a total of 17.3 million cars every year; If 10% more children rode the bus, another 300 million gallons of fuel would be saved annually.
These quick, little facts may not pop into your head when you see a big yellow bus belching exhaust in front of you at the stoplight. But many school officials are seeing buses as a way to be greener and cleaner.
