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What’s happening to the old buses? $2M in savings on $75M in caped isn’t that great, unless the old buses were due for a refresh soon anyway

by fovc 3y ago

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
MBCook 3y ago
We don’t know how many busses needed replacing anyway. And perhaps they’ll sell the gas busses with life still in them to other local districts to help offset costs. Either way there are a ton of non-financial benefits here, this is great to see.
- sneak 3y ago
  > And perhaps they’ll sell the gas busses with life still in them to other local districts to help offset costs. Those districts are in the same atmosphere as the rest of us. If it's bad to use them to burn diesel in LA, it's bad to use them to burn diesel anywhere.
  - ajkjk 3y ago
    That's not .. really.. true? A lot of people live in LA, local air pollution has a large affect there compared to a less-populated and less-already-polluted area. Especially considering those other school districts would be replacing diesel with diesel anyway.
    - slg 3y ago
      It is generally good that carbon emission has jumped to the forefront of environmental decision-making. But it seems like a lot of people now only view these decisions within that context and have lost sight of all the other concerns when it comes to pollution. Not every environmental policy is about stopping the planet from warming. Sometimes it is about stopping our kids from breathing exhaust and waters from getting filled with microplastic.
  - jfengel 3y ago
    LA has famously bad smog because of its geography. It sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains. California passed a lot of emissions restrictions because LA was becoming unlivable in the 1970s. (We all benefit from those, because carmakers sold the same cars elsewhere. The California Air Resources Board wields a lot of power in setting national policy.) So while it would be best to stop burning fossil fuels entirely, we benefit if LA paves the way on electric buses. If they have to defer to cost by selling old stock to those who wouldn't be buying electric anyway, it's still a net win. And slightly better if the other pollution they still make doesn't produce the same concentration it does in Los Angeles.
    - sneak 3y ago
      > If they have to defer to cost by selling old stock to those who wouldn't be buying electric anyway, it's still a net win. If the entire planet experiences catastrophe and there is a mass extinction and agricultural collapse, I feel like this is a distinction without a difference. Then again, perhaps you are right, as it appears we are imminently headed toward this future even if every diesel engine on the planet stopped operating today.
CameronNemo 3y ago
Tiny houses in the desert. Jk I dunno but presumably parts or the whole things will end up in Mexico.
mortureb 3y ago
After about 500k/million miles they end up in west Africa.
- kylehotchkiss 3y ago
  Are the busses there really retired US school busses?
  - mortureb 3y ago
    Some are apparently. The extent of my knowledge is a documentary I watched.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      There's a particular "Thomas Schoolbus" style that is instantly recognizable and I can confirm you find them in use as normal busses in many parts of the world.
AnotherGoodName 3y ago
From the article there's a 3 year lead time. So it's not like this is a sudden change of the fleet.
dangus 3y ago
Buses (including gasoline ones) don’t last that long. Any fleet of buses is being continuously refreshed on a schedule.

What’s happening to the old buses? $2M in savings on $75M in caped isn’t that great, unless the old buses were due for a refresh soon anyway

by fovc 3y ago

What’s happening to the old buses? $2M in savings on $75M in caped isn’t that great, unless the old buses were due for a refresh soon anyway

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

MBCook 3y ago

We don’t know how many busses needed replacing anyway. And perhaps they’ll sell the gas busses with life still in them to other local districts to help offset costs. Either way there are a ton of non-financial benefits here, this is great to see.

sneak 3y ago
> And perhaps they’ll sell the gas busses with life still in them to other local districts to help offset costs. Those districts are in the same atmosphere as the rest of us. If it's bad to use them to burn diesel in LA, it's bad to use them to burn diesel anywhere.
- ajkjk 3y ago
  That's not .. really.. true? A lot of people live in LA, local air pollution has a large affect there compared to a less-populated and less-already-polluted area. Especially considering those other school districts would be replacing diesel with diesel anyway.
  - slg 3y ago
    It is generally good that carbon emission has jumped to the forefront of environmental decision-making. But it seems like a lot of people now only view these decisions within that context and have lost sight of all the other concerns when it comes to pollution. Not every environmental policy is about stopping the planet from warming. Sometimes it is about stopping our kids from breathing exhaust and waters from getting filled with microplastic.
- jfengel 3y ago
  LA has famously bad smog because of its geography. It sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains. California passed a lot of emissions restrictions because LA was becoming unlivable in the 1970s. (We all benefit from those, because carmakers sold the same cars elsewhere. The California Air Resources Board wields a lot of power in setting national policy.) So while it would be best to stop burning fossil fuels entirely, we benefit if LA paves the way on electric buses. If they have to defer to cost by selling old stock to those who wouldn't be buying electric anyway, it's still a net win. And slightly better if the other pollution they still make doesn't produce the same concentration it does in Los Angeles.
  - sneak 3y ago
    > If they have to defer to cost by selling old stock to those who wouldn't be buying electric anyway, it's still a net win. If the entire planet experiences catastrophe and there is a mass extinction and agricultural collapse, I feel like this is a distinction without a difference. Then again, perhaps you are right, as it appears we are imminently headed toward this future even if every diesel engine on the planet stopped operating today.

CameronNemo 3y ago

Tiny houses in the desert. Jk I dunno but presumably parts or the whole things will end up in Mexico.

mortureb 3y ago

After about 500k/million miles they end up in west Africa.

kylehotchkiss 3y ago
Are the busses there really retired US school busses?
- mortureb 3y ago
  Some are apparently. The extent of my knowledge is a documentary I watched.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    There's a particular "Thomas Schoolbus" style that is instantly recognizable and I can confirm you find them in use as normal busses in many parts of the world.

AnotherGoodName 3y ago

From the article there's a 3 year lead time. So it's not like this is a sudden change of the fleet.

dangus 3y ago

Buses (including gasoline ones) don’t last that long. Any fleet of buses is being continuously refreshed on a schedule.