California launches effort to put 1,000 more zero-emission school buses into service

A new California state program aims to put another 1,000 zero-emission school buses on the road, state officials said.

In the largest single investment in state history, California will distribute $500 million to school districts and other educational entities across the state to replace aging school buses with clean, zero-emission buses. The effort will be undertaken in addition to the 1,100 clean school buses already on California roads and another 1,200 already in the pipeline. As part of the Zero Emission School Buses and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program, the state will accept applications for funding through September 30.

Officials said zero-emission school buses are key to the state’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and will help protect children from the health impacts caused by diesel exhaust. In California, all school bus purchases made by school districts will be required to be zero-emission by 2035. School districts in rural communities will have an extension until 2040, officials said.

To date, the state has awarded more than $1.3 billion in incentives to school districts, which in turn has funded more than 2,300 zero-emission school buses. More than 70 percent of the zero-emission buses in operation are in the state’s most polluted communities. More than 300 school districts and educational agencies in the state have purchased at least one zero-emission bus, officials said, and some have transitioned to a 100 percent clean fleet.

Awardees can receive up to $375,000 to replace internal combustion engine school buses with zero-emission vehicles, plus additional awards of up to $95,000 per school bus for related charging infrastructure. Awardees will be required to scrap one old school bus for each new zero-emission bus they purchase, officials said.