Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute

This report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzes the adoption of electric school buses (ESBs) in the United States as of June 30, 2022. It tracks 'committed' buses—those awarded, ordered, delivered, or in operation—and examines the distribution of these vehicles across different states, income levels, and demographics to assess the equity of the transition from diesel-powered fleets.

• As of June 2022, there were 12,720 committed electric school buses across 38 U.S. states, representing approximately two to three percent of the total U.S. school bus fleet. This total includes 455 school districts that have committed to adding electric buses, a 76% increase from the summer of 2021.
• A significant portion of the growth in committed ESBs is attributed to a single contract announced in December 2021 between SEA Electric and bus dealer Midwest Transit Equipment, which aims to repower 10,000 school buses to electric over five years.
• California is the leader in ESB adoption with nearly 1,400 committed buses, which is more than four times the amount of any other state. Approximately 41% of California's committed buses are already delivered or operating, supported largely by state-specific funding like the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP), which has funded 688 buses.
• The Volkswagen (VW) Settlement is the second largest funding source for ESBs, having funded 636 buses across 28 of the 38 states with commitments since 2018.
• The majority of committed electric school buses are larger models; 55% are Type C and 25% are Type D. Among manufacturers, Thomas Built Buses has the highest number of committed buses, while Blue Bird leads in the number of buses delivered or in operation.
• The distribution of ESBs shows mixed equity results: while nearly 80% of buses are in districts with high populations of non-white and/or Hispanic residents and those with the highest PM2.5 air pollution have committed more buses, the largest percentage of ESBs are located in the first income quartile, which has the smallest share of low-income households.
• The average time from the awarding of funds to the delivery of an electric school bus is approximately 16 months, though this varies from under three months to over three years.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/state-electric-school-buses-us-sept-2022.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/state-electric-school-buses-us-sept-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/state-electric-school-buses-us-sept-2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendwhere, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US \_ World Resources Institute}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/state-electric-school-buses-us-sept-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }