As millions of children across the country return to school this month, their ride to school might look, smell and sound a little different. Thanks to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program and other federal and state funding opportunities, more kids are riding to school on an electric school bus than ever before.
States Look to Take the Lead on Transition
Across the country, there are nearly 500,000 school buses transporting 20 million students every year, and the vast majority are diesel-burning buses. But states are taking matters into their own hands by providing additional support for their schools to make the switch to cleaner, healthier electric models. Since 2012, states have approved more than $2.9 billion in electric school bus-eligible funding.
During the summer of 2023, Michigan allotted $125 million for the electric school bus transition, which will be used to prioritize districts most impacted by transportation pollution as well as districts with fewer resources. This past summer, Michigan’s Department of Education opened up the first funding round under the program and announced the winners earlier this month, with more funding yet to come.
Meanwhile, New York has established itself as the first state in the nation with a zero-tailpipe-emission school bus fleet transition requirement and passed its historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act in 2022, which allocates $500 million for electric school buses and charging infrastructure. In late 2023, New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced the first round of funding, an available $100 million, to help schools in the state meet the transition requirement, a program which notably includes funding for repowers and for ADA-compliant buses. The second round of the program dedicates $200 million from the Bond Act and is open now. Nearby, New Jersey also rolled out a $45 million funding program, the first of three iterations, committed to prioritizing fleets the serve environmental justice communities.
Elsewhere, California recently opened its Zero-Emission School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program which provides $500 million for electric school buses and charging infrastructure, and last summer, Colorado completed the first round of the $65 million Colorado Electric School Bus Grant program, administered by the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment, a program expected to reopen this year.
Federal Support Continues to Accelerate
Established under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Clean School Bus Program (CSBP) allocated $5 billion for schools to transition their old diesel-burning school bus fleets to cleaner models such as zero-tailpipe-emission electric school buses. Over its first three funding rounds, school district applications for CSBP funding have far surpassed expectations: due to overwhelming demand, the EPA has awarded nearly double the amount of anticipated funding each round.
Since the start of the program, the Clean School Bus Program has awarded funding for more than 8,000 electric school buses – 1,810 of which have already been delivered – to schools in 49 states, four U.S. territories, Washington D.C. and 55 Tribal school districts representing more than 16 million students. We’ll see even more electric school buses funded at the federal level with the EPA Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicle Program, which provides funds for class 6 and 7 vehicles, including electric school buses.
Lots of Progress, but More Work to Be Done
At the state and federal level, lawmakers have the critical ability to pass policies that will bring a clean ride for kids to their communities. It’s clear that interest in electric school buses is growing across the country, through the multitude of funding opportunities available at both the federal and state levels, and schools are choosing a clean ride for their kids. But policymakers at all levels of government must ensure that there are adequate funding and financing options available, that they actively engage and coordinate with utilities and their regulators, and that they provide technical assistance and workforce training opportunities to support school districts while prioritizing the communities most harmed by transportation pollution.
Action to support school bus electrification now can improve the quality of life for students, drivers and communities for years to come.
