California releases more funding for cleaner school buses (HVIP)
California has opened applications for 150 million dollars allocated in the state budget to support California’s public school districts in the transition toward zero-emission buses. Applicants can receive up to half a million in funding for e-buses and infrastructure.
Maximum funding is at $395,000 to replace older, fossil fuel-powered buses with zero-emission options and up to $100,000 per bus to purchase and install charging equipment. Award winners must scrap an old school bus for every new bus purchased.
The scheme runs in cooperation with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC). The CEC provides the extra dollars for charging through its Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles Project (EnergIIZE).
The agencies say zero-emission school buses played a “key role” in the state’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and help protect children from the health impacts of diesel exhaust.
The new round is the second instalment of the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Last year, 81 school districts purchased more than 300 zero-emission buses through the scheme.
Applications are open to public school districts, public charter schools, joint power authorities, county offices of education, and the Division of State Special Schools of the California Department of Education. Only applicants from small- or medium-sized air districts are eligible, with California prioritising low-income and disadvantaged communities.
California will accept applications through 29 September.
About 25 million schoolchildren take a bus every weekday in America, and various states have launched regional funding programs for electric options. In California, CARB approved a $2.6 billion investment plan for the state’s transition to zero-emission transportation last year. The incentives range from funding for cleaner trucks and buses and mobility options such as bike- and car-sharing to consumer rebates for clean cars.
Nationally, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has freed $400 million in grants for cleaner school buses this year as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides $5 billion in total to transform the yellow fleet across the US. The latest round followed the rebate competition launched in 2022 that awarded nearly $1 bn to electric and low-emission school buses across school districts.
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