How to Manage School Transportation while being
Eco-friendly?
Saving the planet is a team effort, and it is an emergency. It is a matter of survival to do our best to be eco-friendly. That means reevaluating every single area of our lives, and that includes school transportation. It is no secret that commuting is one of the most significant contamination sources produced by man. When using vehicles, we use gas and other resources that pollute the ozone layer. There is no doubt that increased levels of greenhouse gases cause the earth to warm in response (NASA). If we manage to reduce gas emissions, that will make a radical impact on our planet.
Image take from: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
Recommendation for School Transportation Departments:
Problem: Transportation is the US’s second-biggest source of carbon emissions, after the electricity sector (World WildLife). “A passenger car carrying one person emits 89 pounds of CO2 per 100 passenger miles, while a full bus emits only 14 pounds”.
1. Recommendation: One of the first steps toward making your school community greener is to incentivize the community to use the school bus (Reason Foundation).
2. Recommendation: Another thing you can implement to save fuel and reduce expenses is electrical school buses. The PIRG Education Fund report found that each electric bus would save schools about $2,000 a year in fuel costs and $4,400 in maintenance (Sustainable Bus). Electrical school buses require an initial investment, but you will see a return on investment shortly while combating pollution.
Image take from: https://www.proterra.com/press-release/montgomery-county-approves-largest-electric-school-bus-order/
If you are involved in school transportation, it is your responsibility to consider how to reduce your transportation department’s gas emissions and resource consumption.
3. Recommendation: If how to start seems unclear to you, we have two words SMART ROUTING! What is this? Create the most efficient routes and enjoy the snowball of positive effects this brings. Think about it this way, the more efficient your routing game is, the less gas is needed. This gas reduction will help you stretch your dollar.
Added benefits include time reduction. Smarter routes will help you reduce the commuting time. This will lead to a happier community as it has been proven that commuting stress can take a toll on health and happiness levels as it decreases sleep quality and time for physical activity (BMJ Journals).
We will only see a difference with the contamination produced by humankind as long as all of us get started and stay committed. Start taking care of the planet with Viafy! We designed our solutions to help you be eco-friendly while saving resources, time and taking care of your budget!
How Viafy’s solutions help you be eco-friendly
1. With the next school year right around the corner, building new routes is one click away. With your “Route Planner,” simply input the number of buses you have, their total capacity, and student’s addresses. Click and boom. New routes! Route-planning solutions can reduce fuel and labor costs by as much as 39% (BusinessIng).
2. Click on the “Optimizer” to get suggestions on how to make your routes shorter for time and distance! Use less gas and save more money while reducing the amount of time students spend on the bus. Routing optimization software lowers transportation costs by 10 – 30% (Paragon).
3. Unnecessary school bus idling not only wastes gas and pollutes; it also causes excess engine wear and affects your staff’s and students’ health. Identify and correct unnecessary idling with your “Idle Report.” “In one hour of idling, a bus engine wastes 1/2 a gallon of diesel fuel. (DEP)”
4. Protect your fleet’s health, prolong its lifespan and prevent unnecessary vehicle wear with your “Fleet Management module.” Create an unlimited number of services, keep electronic records for vehicle maintenance and get automatic reminders to notify you when services are due. Optimizing fleet maintenance helps resolve maintenance issues faster, saving between 10 – 20% in repair costs (Fleetroot).
