Bill in Albany seeks to make all city buses electric

A climate change bill that aims to require all transit agencies across the state to purchase only zero emission buses starting in 2029 has advanced to the state Senate transportation committee. It is sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz of greater Riverdale and state Sen. Timothy Kennedy of Buffalo.

The legislation would also establish several protections to ensure existing workers are not hurt by the transition to zero emission vehicles.

New York enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019 to reduce the state’s volume of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2050. According to the state’s environmental conservation department, transportation makes up 28 percent of New York’s total greenhouse emissions.

It is because of this fact the assemblyman and senator are sponsoring the bill they call “Green Transit, Green Jobs.”

Last week, the two spoke about the proposed bill in a Zoom call, alongside advocates from NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, more assembly members, and several labor advocates and supporters, including New Flyer Workers United.

Sen. Kennedy, also chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said one of the things he looks for when reviewing these kinds of bills is whether or not the reforms being introduced will actually improve transportation networks by correcting existing flaws.

“Through this legislation, we’re making a strong commitment to our environment by mandating that public transportation systems purchase zero emission buses and related equipment when going through the usual process of replacing their fleets. That would start as of 2029,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy spoke of several transit networks across New York that have already started the transition, including the MTA and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. He also broke the news to the attendees that the bill would be making its way to the committee in less than an hour. The next step is to the floor of the Senate for final approval, and ultimately to Gov. Hochul’s desk.

“We have support from both ends of the state on this and I can’t think of what’s more important,” Dinowitz said. “The work we do to address the issue of climate change is perhaps the most important thing we can be doing for our future but more importantly for the future of our children, our grandchildren, and we’re at a point in time where we have to do this work.”

According to Dinowitz, Green Transit, Green Jobs is a key in doing the necessary work in stopping climate change, reversing climate change and making sure that New York residents, their family members, and neighbors have a clean future.

“The Bronx’s the unhealthiest county of the 62 counties we have in the state of New York. We have high rates of everything including asthma. Asthma is affected by, of course, the pollution in the air,” said Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson of the Bronx.

According to Jackson, her district is seen as the poorest congressional district, so she embraces the opportunity for clean jobs that help out the economy.

Brandon Mancilla, director of UAW 9A, also spoke about why his union is supporting the bill, saying it could help bring manufacturing jobs to New York during uncertain economic times and times of massive inflation.

“This is exactly the moment that we need to be thinking about how to create good community sustaining jobs. Jobs that last, jobs that have protections. Good jobs. Jobs that can grow entire communities,” Mancilla said.

George Kerr, an electric assembler at the newly unionized Newflower Workers United, shared his support in a zoom video at the meeting. His union helps assemble parts for public transit buses. After years of working non-union jobs in the retail construction industry, Kerr learned the difference a union could make and believes New York tax dollars should be creating good family and community sustaining jobs.

“This bill acknowledges that it’s not just car owners that deserve to breathe clean air but that those that ride the bus every day,” said Jaqi Cohen, director of Climate and Equity Policy at the Tri-State Transportation Building.

“Take paratransit (commuters) that live near bus depots and urban areas. They also deserve to breathe clean air.”

Although some buses were recently pulled from service because of a recall on their energy storage systems, Dinowitz said the legislation gives more than enough time for those safety and technical issues to be worked out, since no law would go in effect until at least 2029.

He currently has two bills with Sen. Liz Krueger addressing the issues of lithium-ion batteries. which have been the subject of controversy lately, since some unregulated batteries have been blamed for a rash of fires across the city.

“We can’t wait. You know, we don’t get our planet back after it’s gone,” Dinowitz said. “So, we have to deal with this now and if there are other things we must do at the same time, we can walk and chew gum at the same time and we can certainly address that.”

Mo-Yain Tham of Jobs to America said it’s not like transit agencies will have to abruptly adopt the new technology as soon as 2029 hits. There is time for the technology to improve and adjust. Instead of everyone suddenly using battery electric buses in 2029, it’ll be phased in.

One of the challenges to getting the bill passed, according to NYC-EJA’s Kevin Garcia, was getting people to understand the importance of both trying to reduce tailpipe emissions from the network of public transportation, particularly buses.

Tham spoke of a fear of adopting new technology, so they put a lot of thought and effort into addressing those concerns.

There’s a data extension waiver in the event there’s a reason why existing low emission buses can’t be transitioned out in time.

There’s also an attempt to make sure those currently purchasing electric buses won’t be affected by the bill immediately.

Another challenge to getting the bill passed is time, Dinowitz said. After this week they’ll only have five more weeks left in the committee. There is a limited amount of hours to debate .

He also noted that pro-environment bills like his are often opposed on the floor by Republicans. Regardless, Dinowitz says he is hopeful about the bill with labor workers and environmentalists being on the same page.