Contact: Noah Barnes, Electrification Coalition
noah@electrification.org, (202) 461-2371
WASHINGTON—Today, the Biden-Harris administration announced nearly $1 billion in grants to purchase more than 2,700 clean school buses in 37 states. Established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this is the first round of funding under EPA’s Clean School Bus Grant Program, following last year’s announcement of the first round of rebate funding. The Clean School Bus Program aims to deploy $5 billion in funding through grants and rebates to transform the national school bus fleet by adopting zero-emission school buses.
Electrification Coalition Executive Director Ben Prochazka responded:
“There are nearly half a million school buses in the U.S., transporting 26 million children to and from school. They are highly inefficient, with 90% running on diesel and getting as few as six miles per gallon. Electrifying our nation’s school bus fleet represents an important opportunity to end our oil dependency, saving 2.3 billion gallons of fuel and more than $6 billion annually. School buses are generally on the road for 12-15 years, so each electric school bus that replaces a diesel bus will have a great impact over its lifetime.
“Not only will electric school buses reduce our oil dependency, but they will also protect our most vulnerable Americans. For too long, our children have been breathing dangerous emissions from diesel school buses every day as they travel to and from school. Today’s announcement from the Biden-Harris administration will ensure that some seven million students at 372 school districts will soon be riding quiet, cleaner school buses.
“Electric school buses benefit students through reduced emissions, benefit schools through lower fuel and operating costs, and benefit America by reducing our dependence on oil and creating new manufacturing jobs. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, along with the Inflation Reduction Act, is accelerating transportation electrification and making the U.S. a leader in the global shift to electric vehicles. We applaud the Biden-Harris administration and the members of Congress who passed this important legislation and the Environmental Protection Agency for their role in implementing this historic law.
“The Electrification Coalition offers many resources to help school districts looking to electrify their school buses, including the total cost of ownership DRVE Tool, EV Funding Finder, and a recent webinar on the Clean School Bus Rebate Program. Applications for the second round of the Clean School Bus Rebate Program are currently open, and interested school districts can apply until 4 p.m. on January 31, 2024.”
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About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes policies and actions to facilitate the widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) on a mass scale to overcome the economic, public health and national security challenges that stem from America’s dependence on oil. electrificationcoalition.org