Two federal agencies are jointly proposing a new set of standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (including school buses) aimed at increasing fuel efficiency and decrease pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) collaborated on the standards so that they can effectively decrease the impact large vehicles like school buses have on the environment while also lowering operating costs for fleets.
Agency officials say the proposed standards could reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 1 billion metric tons, lower fuel costs by around $170 billion, and cut oil consumption by up to 1.8 billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the new program.
“Once upon a time, to be pro-environment you had to be anti-big-vehicles. This rule will change that,” U.S Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “In fact, these efficiency standards are good for the environment — and the economy. When trucks use less fuel, shipping costs go down.”
The EPA and NHTSA also say medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for approximately 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and oil use in the U.S., but they only make up around 5% of vehicles on the road.
The agencies announced the proposal last Friday, building on the Phase 1 fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards that have already been put in place for model years between 2014 and 2018.
Under the proposed Phase 2 vehicle and engine performance standards with model years between 2021 and 2027, including semi-trucks, large pickup trucks and vans, and all sizes of school buses and work trucks, would be subject to tighter restrictions.
The new standards for vocational vehicles, including school buses, would reportedly reach up to a 16% reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption compared to the levels achieved under the current standards. According to the agencies, this would be achieved through improvements in engine, transmission and driveline; lower rolling-resistance tires; idle-reduction technologies; and weight reduction.
