Thursday, October 1, 2026
When I was a kid, my father used to offer my siblings and me a piece of advice in Portuguese: “Devagar se vai ao longe,” which translates roughly to “Move at a steady, sustainable pace to reach your goals.” He warned that if we didn’t, we would eventually trip and fall over ourselves. What he meant was simple: Move at a pace that’s realistic. Act within your limits and don’t try to bite off more than you can chew.
That’s just common sense — the kind that everyday working people pass on to their children about how to navigate life.
Unfortunately, that’s often missing in Albany. So, from time to time, I share some of Dad’s wisdom, though I still haven’t quite figured out how to get people to listen.
In June 2024 I published a column titled “Occupy the middle,” in which I proudly pointed out that New York state had achieved one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world despite having one of the largest economies. But I also warned that some environmental advocates in Albany were aggressively pushing full electrification at a pace that would undoubtedly strain the electric grid and leave residents vulnerable during severe storms.
One of the biggest issues I raised was the state mandate forcing every school district to start switching to electric school buses by 2027. The electric grid could never supply enough power — something officials had already acknowledged. Electric buses are also less reliable in cold weather and have limited range, a serious concern during New York winters. But the biggest problem is cost: Districts are expected to spend billions statewide replacing fleets and building infrastructure, money that will inevitably be diverted from classrooms and students.
Yet here we are with my warnings already being played out. Earlier this winter in Erie County, several electric buses struggled to maintain heat during a cold snap, leaving children in freezing-cold buses, bundled up in coats and hats. The buses’ heating systems drew too much battery power, forcing drivers to choose between keeping students warm and rationing power to complete their routes. Parents even started putting their kids on the bus with hand warmers. Similar issues occurred in Fayetteville-Manlius, where buses were nearly out of battery power after 40 or 45 miles and heaters had to again be turned off.
What are we doing? The first responsibility of government is to keep people safe, and that means ensuring that kids can get to and from school reliably regardless of the weather. Children should never have faced freezing conditions or be placed at risk of being stranded in a bus drained of power because a few over-zealous advocates demand what they want.
Safety is only part of the concern. The state imposed this mandate without fully funding it, leaving severe financial burdens on districts and taxpayers. The 2022 law requires that, starting in 2027, districts can no longer buy gas-powered buses, and by 2035 all buses must be zero-emission. Electric buses cost roughly $400,000 versus $130,000 for diesel, with additional expenses for charging stations, electrical upgrades and garage modifications — potentially adding $140,000 per bus. Experts estimate the statewide transition could cost $8 billion to $15 billion more than diesel replacements.
And where will schools get this money? From you, the taxpayers. Despite repeated delays in key parts of the mandate because local infrastructure isn’t ready, districts must now spend precious dollars on feasibility studies for electrical capacity, charging and depots.
Why are districts being asked to spend taxpayer money for something the state itself keeps postponing? School budgets are limited. Every dollar spent on compliance is a dollar taken from classrooms, student programs and aging facilities. On Long Island, where homeowners already shoulder some of the highest property taxes in the country to support their schools, all of this is a grossly unfair burden.
None of this means New York should abandon cleaner transportation. But big changes need to be made slowly and carefully, with realistic timelines and real support for the districts responsible for implementing them. Good ideas only work when grounded in reality. Or as my father used to say, when you walk slowly, you go far.
Jack Martins represents the 7th State Senate District.
