The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today the 70 recipients of over $735 million in grant money from the Clean Heavy Duty Vehicles (CHDV) Grant Program, which helps awardees replace school buses, garbage trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission alternatives. The grant program was created through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The awards are expected to roll out in February 2025.
Many traditional school buses burn diesel fuel, which emits harmful pollutants. Breathing in this pollution, which many kids do every day on their way to school, is linked to asthma and other health issues as well as cognitive development problems. The use of these fuels also contributes to the warming of our atmosphere and climate. This funding will help school districts transition to electric school buses which have zero tailpipe emissions and provide a safer, cleaner ride to school.
Our 2024 state of electric school buses report shows that numbers of electric school buses are growing in districts across the country, thanks in part to large investments from Congress like this one. Continued federal investment in electric school buses can help ensure that no kid has to ride to school on a dirty bus that makes them sick or threatens the Earth they will inherit.
