The future of yellow school buses is green
Introducing the SRP A+ Bus program, another way in which SRP continues to help Arizona schools explore and apply real-world technology to solve environmental stewardship issues.
As part of the program, SRP will provide funding to public school districts in Maricopa, Pinal and Yavapai counties to retrofit their in-service school bus diesel engines with emission-control equipment. Plus, we will fund the maintenance of the retrofit equipment through December 31, 2015.
Who can participate?
The SRP A+ Bus Program is now closed to entries. To be eligible, school districts had to meet minimum requirements:
- Participants must not be legally obligated to reduce bus emissions.
- Participants should not have purchased or installed control devices with funding from other programs.
- The district's school bus fleet runs on ultra low-sulfur diesel (ULSD).
- Each bus travels at least 10,000 miles per year and is in service at least 4 days per week during the school year.
To qualify for the emission-control retrofit, school buses had to meet minimum requirements:
- The model year of the bus must be 1994 or newer.
- The bus must be equipped with a diesel engine and have a gross vehicle weight rating of 19,500 pounds or more.
What is the selection process?
There are six steps in the school bus selection process:
- Expression of Interest Form submittal - The submittal period for the A+ Bus program ended on Nov. 19, 2009.
- Selection process - SRP will select school districts with priority given to those within poor air-quality areas and with a higher percentage of Title 1 schools.
- Funding reservation and notification - SRP will provide a funding reservation to public school districts as chosen through the selection process system until all funds are expended. Selected public school districts will be notified that they have received a funding reservation and will be asked to submit an application.
- Formal spplication submittal - Public school districts that receive reserved funding will be invited to submit a funding application. The application will request further information about the buses to be retrofitted.
- Funding award - SRP will award funding following a thorough review and evaluation of each application.
- Payment - Once each school district has completed the installations, payments will be made within 90 days after receiving all required documentation.
What are the benefits of participation?
In addition to the school districts benefitting from free equipment and maintenance, this program will benefit students as well. SRP will develop educational materials that help teach students how school bus pollution impacts their community and what can be done to reduce that pollution. We also will provide teacher training at each school participating in the program to familiarize teachers with the topics to be covered in the materials.
Contact us
For more information about the SRP A+ Bus Program, contact Tina Drews, SRP Project Manager, at (602) 236-2497, or by e-mail at aplusbus@srpnet.com.
