This event is cancelled. Our Sierra Club Niagara Group is joining in with the National Grid Groups Drive Your EV Week Event on the same date in another Venue in Buffalo -  the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Corridor. 

Our Sierra Club, Niagara Group has a Transportation/Zero Emission Bus Committee for the last consecutive five years.  We are holding a Drive Your EV Celebration on 9/24/2022 from 12:00 – 6:00 pm at Canalside/the primer venue in Buffalo’s downtown waterfront.  This is part of the National Drive Your EV Week Celebration 9/23 – 10/2/22. 

This project bring together the primary work of our Transportation Committee in the last few years.

      We have successfully engaged with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority for 5 years to pursue purchase of electric buses.  NFTA has purchased ten Battery Electric Buses.  These are expected to be delivered August 2022 just prior to the EV Week event. 

We have invited Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to bring their Battery Electric Bus.   

      For several years we have focused on NYS public schools to purchase Electric School Buses.  We have been working with First Student the largest school bus transportation company in North America.  One of their largest clients is the Buffalo Public Schools.  Financial representative Brian Beecham from First Student is applying for 12 Electric School Buses through the New Your State Truck Voucher Incentive Program.  Six of these buses would be for Buffalo Public Schools and six for Rochester Public Schools.  We will be inviting electric school buses companies to this event.

     For the last year we have been lobbying the City of Buffalo to change their fleet of fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles.  We met with eight of nine Common Council Members over this past year.  All eight Common Council Members are in favor of the fleet conversion.  The President of the Council has written a resolution to encourage departments in the City of Buffalo to purchase electric vehicles in place of fossil fuel vehicles or provide a reason for not using electric vehicles.

     This project will bring together the three projects that the Transportation/ZEB Committee has been working on in a powerful Citywide public event with participation from all stakeholders including: NFTA, City Government, County Government, NYS Government Buffalo Public Schools and regional residents.