{"id":2633,"date":"2022-10-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2022-10-25T16:53:27","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T20:53:27","slug":"greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/","title":{"rendered":"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Carley Felzer, JD Anticipated May 2024, Law and Public Policy Scholar<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia has struggled with pollution and environmental contamination since the Industrial Revolution, earning by the 1980s the unflattering moniker of \u201cFilth-adelphia.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 In 2012, it ranked as the second-worst northeastern metropolitan area<\/a> for smog contamination.\u00a0 Although conditions have improved, the American Lung Association awarded the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden metropolitan area a failing grade for ozone pollution in its latest State of the Air Report<\/a>.\u00a0 Exposure to high levels of air pollution increases risk of adverse health outcomes<\/a>, including lung disease, heart disease, and asthma, especially for vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and people living in low socioeconomic and minority neighborhoods.\u00a0 Nationally, Black Americans are exposed to 1.5 times as much pollution as white Americans<\/a>, regardless of income.\u00a0 These unjust environmental burdens are starkly exemplified in Philadelphia, where many low-income communities and communities of color reside near major roadways or industrial areas replete with hazardous pollutants and emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While much of the pollution plaguing Philadelphia stems from industry, including the toxic remnants of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery in Grays Ferry<\/a>, a substantial portion of emissions originate from vehicles.\u00a0 To address this ongoing problem, Philadelphia has created comprehensive plans to electrify its municipal fleet<\/a>, public transportation<\/a>, and school buses<\/a>, as well as mitigate the worst impacts of aviation<\/a>.\u00a0 The City Council is also currently considering the Community Health Act<\/a>, which would place environmental justice at the center of future infrastructure projects.\u00a0 This bill should be passed as soon as possible in order to protect communities that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1990, auto emissions in the Philadelphia metropolitan region have increased by twenty-two percent<\/a>.\u00a0 Although public transportation is designed to reduce emissions and traffic congestion, the majority of SEPTA buses are still powered by diesel and produce 7.2 pounds of CO2 per mile<\/a> \u2013\u00a0over seven times as much<\/a> as the average passenger vehicle.\u00a0 Additionally, as of 2021, the City maintains a 6,000 vehicle municipal fleet<\/a>, which represents approximately thirteen percent<\/a> of the municipal government\u2019s carbon footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2021, the City of Philadelphia released its Municipal Clean Fleet Plan<\/a>, a strategy to transition the City\u2019s fleet to \u201cclean and electric vehicles.\u201d\u00a0 The plan lays out seven overarching recommendations, including easing the transition with interim compressed natural gas (CNG)<\/a> vehicles, establishing a Clean Fleet Committee, and optimizing alternative fueling and electric vehicle charging mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia has also attempted to implement electric buses<\/a>.\u00a0 While twenty-five of these buses were launched in 2019, requests from SEPTA officials for additional heavy batteries to prolong charges led to cracks developing in the vehicles\u2019 chassis, grounding the fleet and undermining the endeavor.\u00a0 As an alternative to electric buses, SEPTA introduced its \u201cSEPTA Forward: Bus Revolution\u201d<\/a> plan to reconfigure over 120 routes with the purpose of maximizing efficiency and improving service throughout Philadelphia and its four suburban counties.\u00a0 SEPTA asserts<\/a> that improving its bus network is \u201cone of the best ways to improve the lives of people with low incomes and people of color who rely the most on public transportation to meet their needs.\u201d\u00a0 Following the three-year redesign project, SEPTA also aims to resume electrification<\/a> and replace 100 diesel buses and 300 hybrid buses with electric buses by 2026.\u00a0 This change would reduce carbon emissions by fifty million pounds annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Philadelphia School District has also begun the process of electrifying its own fleet of school buses<\/a>.\u00a0 As of summer 2022, eleven electric school buses were operational.\u00a0 While this currently represents less than one percent of the total fleet, the District plans to replace all its diesel buses within the next ten years.\u00a0 The upfront cost of purchasing electric buses is significantly greater than diesel buses, but it is estimated that the electric fleet will ultimately save the District between $1 million and $1.5 million per year<\/a> on fuel costs.\u00a0 Much of the funding for this initiative will come from the EPA\u2019s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program<\/a>, which allocates $5 billion over the next five years to replace existing diesel school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.\u00a0 As these electric buses are integrated into the system, the District should prioritize the transition for routes serving communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by exposure to diesel and exhaust fumes, which pose a greater risk<\/a> to children whose lungs and brains are still in the process of developing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Philadelphia is thus far making an admirable effort to curb auto emissions, there remain significant areas of concern, including aviation, which, according to the 2019 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, contributes more than fifty percent of transportation emissions<\/a> in the City.\u00a0 In addition to diesel fumes and other emissions, neighborhoods located in the far southwest of the city near the Philadelphia International Airport exhibit high levels of aldehydes<\/a>, toxic air pollutants known to be carcinogens with no designated \u201csafe concentration.\u201d\u00a0 Airport emissions have increased by three percent since 2006<\/a>, driven primarily by an increase in travelers and cargo.\u00a0 Recently, Philadelphia International Airport received a $2.8 million grant<\/a> from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Voluntary Airport Low Emissions (VALE) grant to install eleven pre-conditioned air (PCA) units.\u00a0 These units are designed to reduce emissions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and particulate matter.\u00a0 The Philadelphia International Airport should continue to make use of VALE grants to improve sustainability and mitigate the most harmful effects of aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Philadelphia City Council has also made efforts to reduce pollution and advance the cause of environmental justice.\u00a0 In February 2022, Councilmember At-Large Helen Gym introduced the Community Health Act<\/a>, which directs the City\u2019s Department of Health to undertake comprehensive \u201cenvironmental justice mapping\u201d to identify communities that bear an \u201cundue burden of pollution and adverse health impacts.\u201d\u00a0 New industrial projects near or within these areas will undergo a cumulative impact analysis empowering the Department of Health to take mitigating steps before such projects can proceed.\u00a0 The Community Health Act also allows for communities to provide input in how the environmental justice maps and cumulative impact assessments are conducted.\u00a0 The City also established an Environmental Justice Advisory Commission<\/a> made up of Philadelphia residents to guide and inform the implementation of the legislation.\u00a0 The Community Health Act would allow Philadelphia to become a \u201cnational leader in environmental justice,\u201d and it is imperative that the City Council pass this legislation to improve outcomes for those most harmed by pollution and its devastating effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greening Philadelphia\u2019s public transportation is necessary to secure a brighter, more equitable future for all.\u00a0 With the City\u2019s ambitious, optimistic plans and federal financial support, we possess all the right tools to move forward towards a cleaner day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carley Felzer, JD Anticipated May 2024, Law and Public Policy Scholar Philadelphia has struggled with pollution and environmental contamination since the Industrial Revolution, earning by the 1980s the unflattering moniker of \u201cFilth-adelphia.\u201d\u00a0 In 2012, it ranked as the second-worst northeastern metropolitan area for smog contamination.\u00a0 Although conditions have improved, the American Lung Association awarded the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden metropolitan area a failing grade for ozone pollution in its latest State of the Air Report.\u00a0 Exposure to high levels of air pollution increases … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[67],"class_list":["post-2633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"\r\nGreening Public Transportation in Philadelphia - Law & Public Policy Program<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia - Law & Public Policy Program\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Carley Felzer, JD Anticipated May 2024, Law and Public Policy Scholar Philadelphia has struggled with pollution and environmental contamination since the Industrial Revolution, earning by the 1980s the unflattering moniker of \u201cFilth-adelphia.\u201d\u00a0 In 2012, it ranked as the second-worst northeastern metropolitan area for smog contamination.\u00a0 Although conditions have improved, the American Lung Association awarded the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden metropolitan area a failing grade for ozone pollution in its latest State of the Air Report.\u00a0 Exposure to high levels of air pollution increases ... Read More\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Law & Public Policy Program\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-26T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beckie Schatschneider\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beckie Schatschneider\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beckie Schatschneider\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d\"},\"headline\":\"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-26T13:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1087,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/\",\"name\":\"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia - Law & Public Policy Program\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-26T13:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/\",\"name\":\"Law & Public Policy Program\",\"description\":\"Temple University Beasley School of Law\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Law & Public Policy Program\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/cms\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lppptest.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/cms\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lppptest.png\",\"width\":1835,\"height\":496,\"caption\":\"Law & Public Policy Program\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d\",\"name\":\"Beckie Schatschneider\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.law.temple.edu\\\/lppp\\\/author\\\/rschatsc\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia - Law & Public Policy Program","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia - Law & Public Policy Program","og_description":"Carley Felzer, JD Anticipated May 2024, Law and Public Policy Scholar Philadelphia has struggled with pollution and environmental contamination since the Industrial Revolution, earning by the 1980s the unflattering moniker of \u201cFilth-adelphia.\u201d\u00a0 In 2012, it ranked as the second-worst northeastern metropolitan area for smog contamination.\u00a0 Although conditions have improved, the American Lung Association awarded the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden metropolitan area a failing grade for ozone pollution in its latest State of the Air Report.\u00a0 Exposure to high levels of air pollution increases ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/","og_site_name":"Law & Public Policy Program","article_published_time":"2022-10-26T13:00:00+00:00","author":"Beckie Schatschneider","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beckie Schatschneider","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/"},"author":{"name":"Beckie Schatschneider","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/person\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d"},"headline":"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia","datePublished":"2022-10-26T13:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/"},"wordCount":1087,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/","name":"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia - Law & Public Policy Program","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-10-26T13:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/greening-public-transportation-in-philadelphia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Greening Public Transportation in Philadelphia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/","name":"Law & Public Policy Program","description":"Temple University Beasley School of Law","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#organization","name":"Law & Public Policy Program","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/lppptest.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/lppptest.png","width":1835,"height":496,"caption":"Law & Public Policy Program"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/#\/schema\/person\/0e60476b5e8ae1f6ece93f01e0b9797d","name":"Beckie Schatschneider","url":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/author\/rschatsc\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paQyul-Gt","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2634,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions\/2634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/lppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}