The Electric School Bus Revolution

How Federal Funding is Transforming Student Transportation

In a significant move towards greener and healthier student transportation, the Biden administration has taken another major step in its commitment to clean up America's school bus fleet. On May 29, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the allocation of nearly $900 million in rebates to over 500 school districts across the country. This funding will facilitate the purchase of approximately 3,400 clean school buses, with an impressive 92% of them being fully electric.

Photo by Megan Lee on Unsplash

This latest round of funding is part of a larger $5 billion program established by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aimed at revolutionizing student transportation in the United States. To date, almost $3 billion has been awarded, demonstrating the administration's unwavering dedication to this cause. The first round of rebates, totaling $1 billion and awarded in October 2022, enabled about 370 school districts to order around 2,500 electric school buses. A subsequent round of grants in January 2024, also approaching $1 billion, provided 67 applicants with the means to acquire more than 2,700 clean buses serving 280 school districts.