The Biden administration believes the future of transportation is electric and big yellow school buses are no exception.
On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that California will receive $88 million to purchase buses in districts across the state, with $19.75 million going to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The funding comes from EPA’s Clean School Bus Program adopted under President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, providing $5 billion in the next five years to electrify school buses nationwide.
“I’ve seen firsthand the harmful health and respiratory impacts polluted air from outdated buses can cause our children, having grown up riding diesel-powered school buses in Pacoima,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, in a statement. “Modernizing our bus system is a crucial investment in our children, our health, and our environment.”
Exposure to diesel particulate matter can can cause elevated risk of asthma, cancer, lung disease, heart disease and other serious health conditions. Transitioning away from diesel vehicles is widely seen as a benefit to both human and environmental health.
LAUSD intends to use its grant to purchase 50 electric buses. The money comes on top of a $75 million investment the district committed to buy 180 buses and to transition the district’s Sun Valley Bus Yard to an all-electric fleet by 2026.
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the district was “greatly honored” to be awarded the additional funding, which will help accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels and improve air quality in the communities it serves.
Other school districts to benefit from the funding include Long Beach Unified, Riverside Unified, San Francisco Unified, Alameda Unified, Oakland Unified, Palm Springs Unified, Porterville Unified, Fallbrook Union High School, and Kern High School, as well as the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Orange County Department of Education.
“These new electric buses funded by the jobs and infrastructure Law will cut harmful diesel emissions for communities in Long Beach burdened with high rates of pollution and childhood asthma,” said Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, in a statement. “It’s a win for public health and a win for our fight against the climate crisis.”