The Biden Administration declared the recipients of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2022 Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, which is awarding nearly $1 billion (all funds in US dollars) in funding to 389 school districts across the US. With this funding, selected school districts across 50 states including Washington, DC and several US territories will be able to purchase over 2,400 electric school buses.
Back in May, the EPA announced $500 million up for grabs via the Clean School Bus Program, but after receiving an influx of demand from countless school districts across the US, the EPA increased the available funding to $965 million.
The program ran until August, and used to a lottery system to determine the final recipients of the funding. Currently, $913 million has been accounted for, with the final applications now under review. In the coming weeks, the agency is expected to announce the final recipients, which will bring the total funding to $965 million.
“As many as 25 million children rely on the bus to get to school each day. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, we are making an unprecedented investment in our children’s health, especially those in communities overburdened by air pollution,” shared EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This is just the beginning of our work to build a healthier future, reduce climate pollution, and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve.”
Over the next five years, another $4 billion in funding will be awarded to qualifying districts thanks to the program created by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The next $1 billion for clean school buses EPA will be made available in fiscal year 2023, to provide another opportunity for those applicants who didn’t get selected in 2022.
