Needs Assessment for Equitable School Bus Electrification in U.S. School Districts

The research identifies that while health and environmental benefits motivate the transition to electric school buses, districts are hindered by concerns over cost, infrastructure, and technology. Notably, geography and locale influence district needs more than priority status, and most districts do not currently integrate equity considerations into their electrification processes.

• District geography (such as census region) and locale (urban or rural) have a more significant influence on the needs of school districts than their priority status—which is based on racial diversity, low-income student percentages, Tribal status, and pollutant exposure—suggesting that technical assistance may be more effective if organized by region or locale.
• The primary drivers for adopting electric school buses include the availability of funding, climate and air quality benefits, the desire for better health outcomes for drivers and students, reduced operating costs, and the influence of seeing other districts use the technology.
• School districts expressed concerns regarding the cost, maintenance, technological readiness, route length, and infrastructure required for electrification. Furthermore, most districts did not incorporate equity into their process; those that did focused on prioritizing students with disabilities and deploying buses in underserved areas.

APA

World Resources Institute (2025). Needs Assessment for Equitable School Bus Electrification in U.S. School Districts. https://www.wri.org/research/needs-assessment-equitable-school-bus-electrification-us-school-districts

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Needs Assessment for Equitable School Bus Electrification in U.S. School Districts. 2025. https://www.wri.org/research/needs-assessment-equitable-school-bus-electrification-us-school-districts.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Needs Assessment for Equitable School Bus Electrification in U.S. School Districts |date=March 2025 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/needs-assessment-equitable-school-bus-electrification-us-school-districts |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2025needs, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Needs Assessment for Equitable School Bus Electrification in U.S. School Districts}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/needs-assessment-equitable-school-bus-electrification-us-school-districts}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }