Healthy Air is Healthcare Champion Dr. Keisha Callins was featured in this article by Leah Kincaid in WGXA. Read the original article here.
MACON, Ga. (WGXA) — Bibb County School District (BCSD) introduced its first fleet of electric school buses designed to protect student health and reduce costs.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, BCSD officials and representatives from the Blue Bird Corporation, Highland Electric Fleets, and Georgia Power celebrated the deployment of 15 alternative fuel buses along with their EV charging stations at the district’s bus depot on Cavalier Drive.
These electric buses, along with 10 propane-fueled buses, were purchased with a $6,275,000.00 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2024 as part of the Georgia Clean School Bus Program.
BCSD’s Executive Director of Transportation, Anthony Jackson, told WGXA that this program was designed to replace traditional diesel buses with more efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives.
“Receiving this grant is something that’s just allowed the district to continue an initiative that was already in place with replacing older diesel buses – with higher pollutant levels- with more efficient running alternative fuel school buses,” Jackson said.” A cleaner environment, fewer polluants, that’s one of the first benefits of propane or EV over the diesel counterpart.”
Dr. Keisha Renee Callins, who attended the event, emphasized how air pollution from burning diesel fuel can negatively impact students’ health.
“Children are much more significantly impacted by the toxins or the pollution in the air because they breathe about 50% more of their body weight per pound than adults do,” she said. “In addition to that, their airways are smaller, their lungs are still developing and so with all of that, they are more likely to have deposits from harmful chemicals.”
Dr. Callins stressed that exposure to chemicals like carbon dioxide, benzene and formaldehyde, all found in diesel fuel, can create long-lasting impacts on a child’s health, including chronic respiratory diseases.
“One of my favorite quotes is ‘If a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment, not the flower,’ and the same thing goes for our children,” said Callins. “If children are not thriving it is important for us to work on fixing the environment and, in this case, the air that the children breathe as opposed to focusing just on the child.”
She added that she is proud to see BCSD be one of the hundreds of school districts across Georgia leading the effort in protecting our most vulnerable by launching its electric fleet.
“I’m super excited that Bibb County gets to be one of those line leaders, and really encourage and empower our entire state to make efforts and do everything that we can to protect children.
Jackson says the district has also seen a reduction in costs from the use of the alternative fuel vehicles.
“We’ve already been able to see the cost savings on the propane side, and we are anticipating those same type cost savings on the EV side, as it relates to fuel costs as well as maintenance costs,” he said. “We’re just excited about the opportunity to continue the alternative exploration for school bus transportation.”
BCSD says the electric buses will be used for fixed routes as it continues to advance the program.
