School districts in the U.S. are getting nearly $1 billion to buy electric buses, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday — with Georgia schools getting $57 million of the funding.
The injection of cash is meant to reduce pollutants from traditional diesel school buses and improve air quality and health for students nationwide.
There are currently only about 25 electric buses in Georgia, said Phil Horlock, the CEO of Fort Valley bus manufacturer Blue Bird. By the end of 2024, he expects to see 50 to 75 on the roads. And with the federal funding, the number is expected to keep climbing.
“Some people may see it as just another school bus, but I see it as an answered prayer,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said at an event Monday at Stone Mountain Middle School to announce the funding.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
DeKalb County, the state’s third-largest district, will be getting $20 million in funding this year to purchase about 25 electric buses and the infrastructure to support them. School districts in Bibb, Clayton and Richmond counties as well as Marietta City Schools also received grants.
Fulton County Schools currently operates one electric bus. Atlanta Public Schools and the Clayton County School District also received funding last year from the EPA for electric buses. Clayton received another $20 million this year.
Currently, DeKalb doesn’t have any electric buses — but about 25% of its fleet of 600 buses run on propane, a low-emission fuel, said Chief Operating Officer Erick Hofstetter. Cleaner air has been a priority in DeKalb schools as well, where there is an air purifier in every classroom this year.
DeKalb officials estimate that it will take about 18 months before the district sees its first electric bus — but they can hardly wait.
“Implementing these clean energy, zero-emissions school buses is a game-changer,” said DeKalb Superintendent Devon Horton.
The Biden administration has made reducing pollutants a priority, and lawmakers allocated $5 billion in 2021 to replacing aging, diesel school buses. About $1 billion of that funding awarded this year will purchase more than 2,700 buses in 280 school districts. Last year, the administration provided nearly $1 billion nationwide to purchase roughly 2,500 buses.
“Mark my words,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said Monday. “Zero-emission school buses can and will be the new American standard.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Electric buses can typically run about 120 miles between charges. Electric buses can cost up to $400,000 on the higher end of the spectrum, but have lower maintenance costs over their lifetime.
Exposure to diesel exhaust is linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses, especially in children and the elderly, according to the EPA. It also contributes to ground-level ozone, which can be a major hazard on Georgia’s hot summer days and has been tied to a host of serious health conditions.
Outside of the reduced emissions and health benefits, electric buses are much quieter than diesel buses. Officials say the buses are safer when the driver and students can hear each other.
Divana Tesfamariam, a seventh grader at Stone Mountain Middle School who went on a test drive on a Blue Bird electric bus on Monday, noted how much quieter it was than the one she usually rides to school.
“Normally my school bus makes squeaky sounds,” she said afterward. “This bus is smooth.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
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