CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
[email protected]
(917) 887-0146
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, EPA announced $500 million in rebates through its Clean School Bus Program. Using funds allocated by the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this is the third round of funding available for school districts to fund electric and low-emission school buses across the country.
In response, Senior Legislative and Regulatory Policy Manager Melody Reis issued the following statement:
“Every day, millions of children across America ride school buses. Nearly all of the 500,000 buses in our nation’s school bus fleet are diesel-powered, spewing harmful tailpipe pollution into the air with every ride to school.
“But thanks to important investments like the Clean School Bus Program, we’re making critical progress. More and more school buses are becoming cleaner as polluting diesel vehicles are replaced by safer zero-emission buses.
“Since the Clean School Bus Program’s launch, Moms Clean Air Force has been working on the ground to ensure that funding from the program is allocated to the school districts that need it most. The program has seen an overwhelming demand for electric buses, and thousands of cleaner buses will be on the road as a result. Each one of these buses means less exposure to dirty diesel exhaust for children whose vulnerable lungs are still developing. But a tremendous amount of work remains: too many children, too many bus drivers, and too many communities are exposed to toxic tailpipe pollution on a daily basis. Diesel exhaust harms our planet and our health.
“All kids deserve a clean ride to school, and we celebrate EPA’s announcement of this next round of Clean School Bus Program funding. We look forward to working with the agency to ensure that cleaner zero-emission buses are rolling into the communities that need them most.”