US government awards USD 1 billion to schools for electric buses

In the United States, nearly 400 school districts spanning all 50 states and Washington, D.C., along with several tribes and territories, are receiving roughly one billion dollars in grants to purchase about 2,500 “clean” school buses under a new federal program.

The Biden administration is making the grants available as part of a wider effort to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution near schools and communities.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan is set to announce the grant awards in Seattle.

The White House said the new, mostly electric school buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and better protect children’s health.

Regan said that as many as 25 million children ride familiar yellow school buses each school day and will have a “healthier future” with a cleaner fleet. He said this is just the beginning of their work to reduce climate pollution and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve.

Only about one percent of the United States 480,000 school buses were electric as of last year. But the push to abandon traditional diesel buses has gained momentum in recent years.

Money for the new purchases is available under the federal Clean School Bus Program, which includes five billion dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last year.