Zero-tailpipe-emissions electric school buses are within reach

“With applications flooding the Clean School Bus Program, school districts around the country have spoken: they’re ready to make polluting diesel buses a thing of the past. For too long, students and drivers across the country have suffered the impacts of diesel exhaust pollution, a known carcinogen which can lead to asthma and other respiratory illnesses,” said SUE GANDER, DIRECTOR, ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS INITIATIVE, WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE.

Blue Bird and Lightning eMotors will expand their partnership to offer a factory certified electric repower program to convert select gasoline- and propane-powered school buses to electric.

Following passage by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature. Once signed, the IRA will become the most ambitious climate law in American history – and it includes provisions for clean heavy-duty vehicles, which may be used to fund electric school buses.

NJ Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law which provides $45 million in funding over the course of the next three years to develop and implement the state’s Electric School Bus Program.

On May 20th, 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael Regan officially opened the Clean School Bus Program’s first funding period. With $500 or more available for electric school buses in districts nationwide, this represents a historic opportunity to give children clean, healthy rides to school on zero-tailpipe-emission buses.

New York’s 2023 state budget marks the beginning of a new era for the iconic yellow school bus – one in which children are no longer forced to inhale toxic diesel exhaust and instead breathe clean air on electric buses.

On April 4th, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure through increased energy efficiency in buildings and transportation, including electric school buses.

On Saturday, March 12th and Sunday, March 13th, the New York State Assembly and State Senate released their respective one-house budget resolutions. Both houses embraced elements of Governor Hochul’s vision to achieve the first fully zero emission statewide school bus fleet in the country by 2035.

On January 5, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York announced a nation-leading effort that calls for the electrification of New York’s entire school bus fleet.

A new analysis from Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) forecasts tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars added to the national GDP due to the electric school bus investments in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Thousands of diesel school buses will be repowered with electric systems over the next five years in the largest known announcement globally.

Extreme cold is nothing new in Alaska – but frigid winters aren’t slowing down the state’s first electric school bus!

TIME Magazine examines the significance of electric school bus funding contained in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law on November 15. The article outlines the current state of the nation’s school bus fleet, the role federal funding may play in deploying electric school buses, and the impacts electric school buses are expected to have on the country’s manufacturing sector and workforce.

The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure deal, was passed in the House last Friday after having already been passed in the Senate in August. The legislation specifically allocates funding to electrify school buses across the country.

The American Lung Association hosted two events this week to garner federal support for electric school buses in Arizona and Georgia.

In an op-ed published in Newsweek, Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation for Teachers (AFT), urges Congress to invest federal dollars to speed the transition to electric school buses.

The Aspen Institute’s K12 Climate Action Commission released a report outlining a series of recommendations for how federal, state, and local actions can support schools to become more sustainable and equitable.

Senators Tom Carper, Alex Padilla and Catherine Cortez Masto joined the American Lung Association, the National Association of School Nurses, Children’s Environmental Health Network, and Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments to call for electric school bus investments.

Attorneys General of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia send letter to Congress to support funding zero-emission school buses.

In this Wall Street Journal article, school bus manufacturers highlight that additional federal funding will help lower the costs of electric school buses – which is the biggest barrier to widespread adoption. School districts across the country are ready to purchase electric buses with support to cover the up-front costs.

15 of the nation’s leading health groups are urging Congress to maximize funding for zero-emission school buses as part of federal infrastructure investments.

Across the nation thousands of students are headed back to school on yellow school buses, at the same time Congress is considering infrastructure legislation that could transform the school bus fleet. Policymakers have an exceptional opportunity to invest in the health and future of our children by reducing the toxic air, and global warming, pollution from the transportation sector through electric school bus funding. 

1,164 electric school buses have been committed — meaning announced, procured, delivered or in operation. However, with the technology improving, costs coming down, new sources of funding and financing, and the recognition of a range of benefits, momentum is building.