EPA Launches School Bus Electrification Program

“On May 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, which will help school districts replace polluting diesel buses with clean electric ones.” According to a press release from U.S. PIRG, the program will distribute money over the next five years to cover the cost of new electric buses. “While buses that run on some ‘alternative fuels’ are eligible for some of the funding, the EPA is placing higher prioritization for applications for electric buses.”

As the release states, “The nation’s current fleet of 450,000 school buses primarily run on diesel fuel. As described in several PIRG reports, diesel exhaust has been linked to respiratory illness, cancer and other serious health risks.” Advocates such as PIRG are calling on school districts to shift to electric buses to protect the health of students and the community.

A March 2022 U.S. PIRG report on electric school buses outlines the potential for bus electrification to significantly reduce  emissions in the transportation sector, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Electric buses can also serve as a source of backup energy. “The unique characteristics of school buses make them ideally suited to serve as a source of energy storage and emergency power. Their use patterns allow them to be available as a source of large volumes of energy storage, especially at the times when the grid is most vulnerable.”