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The first electric school buses in the United States began operating about 10 years ago in California.
大約10年前，美國第一輛電動校車開始在加利福尼亞州運營。
Fewer than one percent of the 489,000 school buses in the U.S. were electric at the end of 2023.
截至2023年底，美國48.9萬輛校車中，電動校車的比例不到1%。
However, the number of electric school buses currently operating or that have been ordered from a manufacturer has more than tripled in the last two years.
然而，目前正在運行的或從制造商那里訂購的電動校車的數(shù)量在過去兩年里增加了兩倍多。
That information comes from the Electric School Bus Initiative of the non-profit World Resources Institute, or WRI, based in Washington D.C.
這些信息來自總部設(shè)在華盛頓特區(qū)的非營利性組織世界資源研究所的電動校車倡議。
The WRI said that increase means 10 times as many students now ride electric school buses — from around 20,000 in 2020 to 200,000 three years later.
世界資源研究所表示，這一增長意味著目前乘坐電動校車的學生數(shù)量增加了10倍，從2020年的約2萬人增加到三年后的20萬人。
The number of states with electric bus laws or goals also grew from two to 14 between 2020 and last year.
從2020年到去年，制定電動公交車法律或目標的州也從2個增加到14個。
People and organizations that want electric school buses can find it difficult to get local officials to find ways to pay for them.
想要電動校車的人和組織可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)，很難讓當?shù)毓賳T找到支付費用的方法。
"It's just a matter of breaking down these barriers," said Alicia Cox.
艾麗西亞·考克斯說：“這只是打破這些障礙的問題?！?/p>
She is a mother of two in Jackson, Wyoming.
她是兩個孩子的母親，居住在懷俄明州杰克遜鎮(zhèn)。
Her state is the only one that does not have a single school district with an electric bus operating or on order.
她所在的州是唯一一個沒有一個學區(qū)有電動公交車或訂購電動公交車的州。
Cox's son, a second grader, often rides a diesel bus to school.
考克斯的兒子上二年級，經(jīng)常乘坐柴油公交車上學。
Parents and local officials say one of the biggest problems with electric school buses is their cost.
家長和當?shù)毓賳T表示，電動校車最大的問題之一是成本。
Even with the fuel and maintenance savings of an electric bus, they cost two to three times more than diesel fueled buses.
即使電動公交車節(jié)省了燃料和維護費用，它們的成本也是柴油公交車的兩到三倍。
The Environmental Protection Agency says it has a $5 billion program for zero-emissions buses.
美國國家環(huán)境保護局表示，它有一個50億美元的零排放公交車項目。
The money comes from an infrastructure law passed by the U.S. Congress under the administration of President Joe Biden in 2021.
這筆資金來自美國國會在喬·拜登總統(tǒng)執(zhí)政期間于2021年通過的一項基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施法。
Nearly 440 grants and rebates totaling about $1.8 billion have already been released.
已經(jīng)發(fā)放了近440筆贈款和退還款，總額約為18億美元。
The goal of the federal money is to replace thousands of buses across several hundred school districts in the U.S.
這筆聯(lián)邦資金的目標是更換美國數(shù)百個學區(qū)的數(shù)千輛公交車。
Demand for the money has been "heartening," said Christine Koester.
克莉絲汀·科斯特說，對這筆錢的需求“令人振奮”。
She is a director for the Clean School Bus Program at the EPA.
她是美國國家環(huán)境保護局清潔校車項目的負責人。
In addition to federal money, supporters have successfully pushed to use other money.
除了聯(lián)邦資金外，支持者還成功地推動使用其他資金。
That includes money from federal government legal cases, like the Volkswagen emissions settlement.
其中包括來自聯(lián)邦政府法律案件的資金，比如大眾汽車排放和解協(xié)議。
In that case, the U.S. government brought legal action against the German carmaker for having a system that gave false car emissions results.
在那起案件中，美國政府對這家德國汽車制造商提起了法律訴訟，理由是該公司的系統(tǒng)提供了虛假的汽車排放結(jié)果。
For school districts that are not receiving federal money, there are other possibilities.
對于沒有接受聯(lián)邦資金的學區(qū)來說，還有其他可能性。
These include leasing buses from companies that supply the buses and the equipment needed.
其中包括從提供公交車和所需設(shè)備的公司租賃公交車。
This method spreads costs out over time.
這種方法可以在一段時間內(nèi)分攤成本。
Dearborn Public Schools is a Detroit area school district in the Midwestern state of Michigan.
迪爾伯恩公立學校是位于美國中西部的密歇根州底特律地區(qū)的一個學區(qū)。
Seventy percent of families in the district are poor.
這個地區(qū)70%的家庭都很窮。
Communications director David Mustonen said the district was interested in new technology when it began operating its first electric bus in December 2022.
通訊總監(jiān)大衛(wèi)·穆斯托寧表示，該學區(qū)在2022年12月開始運營第一輛電動公交車時對新技術(shù)很感興趣。
The district bought an electric school bus with a $300,000 federal grant.
該學區(qū)用30萬美元的聯(lián)邦撥款購買了一輛電動校車。
The bus has been operational only about three of the 12 months since then.
在那之后，這輛公交車只運行了大約3個月。
That is because of maintenance needs and learning about the device.
這是因為維護需要和對該設(shè)備的了解。
That is not discouraging Dearborn from moving forward with adding 18 additional electric school buses.
這并沒有阻止迪爾伯恩學區(qū)繼續(xù)增加18輛電動校車。
But those problems represent a risk other school districts may not want to take.
但這些問題代表著其他學區(qū)可能不愿承擔的風險。
There are other problems slowing the change to electric buses.
還有其他問題減緩了學校轉(zhuǎn)而使用電動公交車的速度。
School districts sometimes take a long time to approve electric buses.
學區(qū)有時需要很長時間才能批準電動公交車。
Manufacturing of the buses can be delayed, and electric buses require special electrical connections for charging.
公交車的生產(chǎn)進程可能會推遲，電動公交車需要特殊的電氣連接才能充電。
And, of course, electricity costs money, too.
當然，電也是要花錢的。
Wyoming refused federal money from the EPA because of concerns about how far the buses could travel.
懷俄明州之所以拒絕了美國國家環(huán)境保護局的聯(lián)邦資金，是因為其擔心電動公交車的行駛里程。
There were also concerns about cold temperatures.
此外，該州還擔心氣溫偏低。
Wyoming is a very large Western state where travel distances are big and, in the winter, temperatures can get very cold.
懷俄明州是一個面積很大的西部州，在那里旅行距離很長，在冬天，氣溫可能會變得非常低。
Electric battery performance decreases in cold temperatures.
電池的性能在低溫下會下降。
"Even though diesel is not as clean, it's getting the job done," Cox said schools and fleet managers tell her.
考克斯說，學校和車隊經(jīng)理告訴她，“盡管柴油不是那么清潔，但它能完成工作?！?/p>
I'm John Russell.
約翰·拉塞爾為您播報。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經(jīng)授權(quán)請勿轉(zhuǎn)載！
