Cleaner school bus initiative focus of D.C. event

Children’s health—and how bus companies can affordably make a difference—was the topic of a joint program put together by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National School Transportation Association.

Dale Krapf, immediate past chairman of the United Motorcoach Association and past president of the National School Transportation Association, was the featured speaker at the event in Washington, D.C. But the children who attended and were fascinated by his bus were the event stars.

During the event, the EPA announced some $9 million in rebates to regional, state and tribal agencies, including school districts, municipalities and private contract school bus operators who serve public school children to help them replace older school buses with cleaner, more modern vehicles.

Krapf School Bus displayed a bus purchased through funds under this Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program, and owner Dale Krapf spoke on the importance of clean technology.

“Our commitment to safety and children’s health is not only focused on preventing accidents but also protecting the overall health of kids,” he said. “That is why we have been a strong and consistent supporter of the DERA program and even before that, the Clean School Bus program.”

Krapf spoke to students, parents, EPA staff and others in attendance, saying he was delighted to have received a rebate and display a bus purchased with the funds.

“It is an example of the way buses that local school districts and companies under contract to school districts around the country are able to buy to keep their children safe and their air much cleaner by taking older, more polluting but still serviceable buses off the road,” he said.

For more on the NSTA and initiatives, visit yellowbuses.org.

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