Benefits of Clean School Buses
School buses travel over four billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million children every day. However, diesel exhaust from these buses can contribute to air quality problems and has a negative impact on human health, especially for children, who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed.
With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the EPA Clean School Bus Program provides $5 billion over five years (FY 2022-2026) to clean a substantial portion of the nation's fleet of nearly 500,000 school buses. These new cleaner school bus replacements will produce either zero or low emissions compared to their older diesel predecessors, resulting in cleaner air on the bus, in bus loading areas, and in the communities in which they operate.
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Benefits of Electric School Buses
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Zero tailpipe pollution -- students, drivers, and members of the community will be exposed to significantly less harmful diesel emissions like PM and NOX
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to diesel school buses
- Reduced maintenance costs
- Less brake wear due to regenerative braking and no engine or exhaust system maintenance
- Potential for reduced fuel costs compared to diesel depending on electricity costs
- Quiet, clean operation
- Potential for fleets to partner with local utilities to feed power back into the grid when buses are not in use and electricity demand is high
- Improved student attendance and academic achievement1
The U.S. Department of Energy has useful information on the pros and cons of using electricity to power school buses.
A webinar featuring school bus drivers who have made the transition to electric is available at Steering the Transition: Electric School Bus Drivers (Electric School Bus Initiative).
Benefits of Alternative Fuel School Buses
- Reduced tailpipe pollution -- students, drivers, and members of the community will be exposed to less harmful diesel emissions like PM and NOX
- Potential for reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to diesel depending on the alternative fuel that is used
- Potential for reduced fuel costs compared to diesel depending on the alternative fuel that is used
- Improved student attendance and academic achievement1
The U.S. Department of Energy has useful information on the pros and cons of using natural gas and propane to power school buses.
1 Wes, A. et al. School bus emissions, student health and academic performance. Economics of Education Review (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.03.002; Pedde, M., Szpiro, A., Hirth, R. et al. Randomized design evidence of the attendance benefits of the EPA School Bus Rebate Program. Nat Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01088-7