Getting to School with Our Health and the Environment in Mind

There are plenty of priorities to consider for transporting students to and from school each day, including safety, timeliness, and consistency. While LPS continues to excel in those areas, we can also focus on prioritizing another aspect of transportation: environmental responsibility. LPS deploys approximately 120 buses daily for regular transport, busing just under 4000 students. Combined with the thousands of cars driven by high school students and those by parents to pick up/drop off children, our vehicle use throughout the district can contribute to a staggering amount of daily carbon emissions polluting the air around our schools.

With this in mind, LPS Transportation has taken the initiative to limit the environmental impact contributed by the bus fleet. While the graph below shows that full buses are already among the most environmentally friendly in terms of passenger-miles, LPS has also implemented an anti-idling policy with bus drivers (meaning the buses are required to to be turned off if they are to be idling in one spot for an extended amount of time). LPS has also ensured that all buses have emissions control technology, including diesel oxidation catalysts and closed crankcase ventilation systems.  

While retrofitting your own vehicle with emissions control technology may be unrealistic, there are easy, creative options you can choose to pursue that would reduce your personal daily impact. Use the chart below to see how different forms of transportation produce CO2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In an effort to reduce your transportation emissions, consider:

  • Adopting your own anti-idling policy – It’s very simple: when you park your car to pick up your children, turn off the engine to avoid burning unnecessary fuel. Don’t limit yourself to schools either; make an effort to avoid idling wherever you go.
  • Burning energy instead of fuel – For families who live relatively close to school, discuss letting your student walk or bike whenever possible. This eliminates your carbon emissions near the school on a daily basis (notice the emissions difference between walking/biking and driving a car in the chart). Parents will also enjoy avoiding the hassle of maneuvering before- and after-school traffic.
  • Having fun with walking! – One fun, safe, and effective method is to organize a walking school bus with other students in your neighborhood. Parents can take turns walking the group to and from school, and the students have a blast walking with their friends!
  • Carpooling – If walking or biking to school is not an option, try organizing a carpool with other parents/students you know nearby. This can be effective with all ages, including high school students. The data provided in the chart shows that as each additional person is involved in the carpool, CO2 emissions per passenger-mile are reduced.