The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US

This report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzes the adoption of electric school buses (ESBs) in the United States as of June 2023. It tracks the number of committed vehicles, the impact of federal and state funding, and the distribution of these buses across different demographics and environmental conditions, highlighting a trend toward more equitable deployment in low-income and high-pollution areas.

• As of June 2023, there are 5,982 committed electric school buses across 914 U.S. school districts or private fleet operators. This represents a five-fold increase in committed buses since the first count in the summer of 2021. Of these, approximately 1,285 buses in 40 states have been delivered or are currently in operation, serving an estimated 69,000 students.
• The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Rebate Program is the primary driver of adoption, funding 2,339 buses. In its first round of funding in 2022, the program awarded over $900 million for more than 2,300 buses to 365 school districts. This program has enabled ESB commitments in 49 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and four tribal nations.
• California leads the U.S. in ESB adoption with over 2,000 committed buses, which is more than five times the number of commitments in Maryland, the second-leading state with 391. However, adoption is becoming more geographically distributed; the South now accounts for 33% of commitments, while California's share has decreased to 35%.
• Electric school bus adoption is showing a strong trend toward equity, with a high concentration of vehicles in underserved communities. As of June 2023, 86% of committed ESBs are in districts with the highest percentages of non-white/Hispanic residents, and 62% are in districts with the highest shares of low-income households.
• ESB deployment is heavily concentrated in areas with poor air quality. Approximately 75% of committed ESBs are located in school districts with the highest concentrations of ozone pollution, and over two-thirds (65%) are in districts with the highest concentrations of PM2.5.
• Type C buses are the most common electric model, accounting for 62.5% of committed ESBs, followed by Type D at 21.5% and Type A at 15.8%. Type B buses represent only 0.2% of the committed fleet.
• Several states have enacted statutory mandates for zero-emission school bus transitions, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, and New York. Delaware's August 2023 mandate requires 30% of new school buses to be electric by 2030.

APA

Freehafer, L., Lazer, L., & Zepka, B. (2023). The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-06/state-electric-school-buses-us-september-2023.pdf

Chicago

Freehafer, Lydia, Leah Lazer, and Brian Zepka. The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US. World Resources Institute, 2023. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-06/state-electric-school-buses-us-september-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Freehafer |first1=Lydia |last2=Lazer |first2=Leah |last3=Zepka |first3=Brian |title=The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=21 September 2023 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-06/state-electric-school-buses-us-september-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{freehafer2023state, author = {Freehafer, Lydia and Lazer, Leah and Zepka, Brian}, title = {{The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-06/state-electric-school-buses-us-september-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }