Only about 1% of the nation’s 480,000 school buses were electric as of last year. Funding comes from the federal Clean School Bus Program, which includes $5 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law.
. The new, mostly electric school buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and better protect children’s health, the White House said.As many as 25 million children ride familiar yellow school buses each school day and will have a "healthier future" with a cleaner fleet, Regan said. "This is just the beginning of our work to ... reduce climate pollution and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve," he said.
The clean bus program "is accelerating our nation’s transition to electric and low-emission school buses while ensuring a brighter, healthier future for our children," Regan said in a statement. School districts identified as priority areas serving low-income, rural or tribal students make up 99% of the projects that were selected, the White House said. More applications are under review, and the EPA plans to select more winners to reach the full $965 million in coming weeks.