In Celebration of Earth Day, National Express Continues to be a Trailblazer in its Role as an Environmentally Responsible Transportation Partner

Anna Lam | April 22, 2022 | News
In Celebration of Earth Day, National Express Continues to be a Trailblazer in its Role as an Environmentally Responsible Transportation Partner

LISLE, IL – National Express, LLC (NELLC) is proud to celebrate Earth Day and continue its active role in protecting and preserving the planet by advocating for and participating in sustainability initiatives. In celebration of Earth Day this year, National Express’ WeDriveU shuttle division is holding nationwide events promoting shared alternatives to driving to work alone, showcasing electric vehicle (EV) demos and Earth-friendly seed card passenger giveaways made in the U.S.A. of organic, handmade paper incorporating elements from nature including flower petals and seeds.

As a leader in the school bus, transit, and shuttle transportation space, National Express understands the importance of reducing its carbon footprint and greenhouse gases for the betterment of the planet and the health of its citizens and students. Over the years, NELLC has taken countless steps in building and advocating for a greener tomorrow and has ramped up its efforts in recent years. Most recently, the company appointed industry veteran Nick Voisard in a newly created role as Senior Director of Electric Vehicles for North America. In his new role, Nick will be responsible for expanding NELLC’s existing and new efforts in transitioning to an all zero-emission fleet across its school bus, transit, and shuttle divisions by 2040.

NELLC’s other notable sustainability efforts also include:

  • Partnered with Con Edison and participated in an innovative vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bi-directional charging electric school bus study.
  • Total Transit Enterprises, a National Express Transit Company that operates the Sabino Canyon Crawlers, has managed an emission-free electric fleet since 2020
  • Moved to fully synthetic oils in all of our fleets, which has allowed us to extend the life of our oil services and reduce our oil waste stream by 50%.
  • Utilizing hybrid vehicles, renewable diesel, and alternate fuels in many of our locations.
  • Upgrading lighting fixtures in our facilities throughout North America to high output LED fixtures.
  • Optimizing our routes and tracking vehicle speed to focus on reducing mileage and fuel consumption.
  • Instituting a no-idle policy, which helps reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions.

Furthermore, through its company-wide Partners Beyond the Bus community outreach program, NELLC team members on the local level volunteer year-round in various community events related to environmental sustainability, such as park cleanups, Adopt-a-Highway programs, recycling, donating, and more. Through these combined efforts at the corporate and local level, NELLC has been able to further solidify its position as a leading environmentally responsible partner.

“I am proud of the steps and progress National Express has made in becoming an environmentally conscious company,” said Gary Waits, CEO of National Express, LLC. “Our team members continuously seek out and engage in sustainability practices, whether that be through reducing fuel consumption, recycling and repurposing parts, or our expanding efforts in EV. Ultimately, it is our responsibility to help reduce the world’s carbon footprint and create a more sustainable future for generations to come. We hope to lead by example and inspire other companies to become an active participant in protecting the environment.”

WeDriveU Earth Day Event
WeDriveU dispatcher Kelsey Donaldson at its Earth Day event in South San Francisco, CA