Driving Forward on a Clean Ride for Kids

This expert note from the World Resources Institute recommends that federal and state policymakers maintain and expand incentives, funding, and infrastructure support to accelerate the electrification of the United States' school bus fleet to improve student health and support the clean bus economy.

• The majority of the approximately 480,000 school buses in the United States use diesel fuel, which produces emissions linked to cancer, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses, contributing to school absenteeism for the 20 million children who use these buses daily.
• Electric school buses (ESBs) offer advantages over other bus types regarding operating costs, health, and air quality, and are functional across various climates and settings (urban, suburban, and rural). They provide benefits including reduced fuel and maintenance costs for districts, support for US manufacturing, and increased resiliency during extreme weather.
• The Clean School Bus Program (CSBP), created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is the primary driver of ESB deployment, providing $5 billion from FY 2022–26. By June 2024, the CSBP announced nearly $3 billion across 966 awards, supporting over 8,500 ESBs and charging infrastructure for more than 1,200 school districts (including 65 Tribal districts) across 49 states, 4 US territories, and Washington, DC, serving 16 million students. Over 2,000 funded ESBs have been delivered, though recent pauses in federal funding disbursement are noted as a concern.
• The document provides several policy recommendations: the US Environmental Protection Agency should disburse all awarded funds and the remaining $2 billion of CSBP funding; Congress should maintain the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C) and the Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (45W); and state governments should increase funding, set transition targets, support utility "make-ready" programs, provide technical assistance, and develop financing via state infrastructure banks.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Driving Forward on a Clean Ride for Kids. https://www.wri.org/research/driving-forward-clean-ride-kids

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Driving Forward on a Clean Ride for Kids. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/driving-forward-clean-ride-kids.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Driving Forward on a Clean Ride for Kids |url=https://www.wri.org/research/driving-forward-clean-ride-kids |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutenddriving, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Driving Forward on a Clean Ride for Kids}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/driving-forward-clean-ride-kids}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }