ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS U.S. MARKET STUDY AND BUYER’S GUIDE

The report analyzes the growing U.S. electric school bus (ESB) market, noting that as of March 2022, 415 districts had committed to 12,275 ESBs. It details the benefits of ESBs, including zero tailpipe emissions and lower operational costs, while outlining the technical requirements for charging infrastructure and the variety of available vehicle types (Type A, C, and D). The guide also explores funding mechanisms, such as the $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, and provides a roadmap for fleet electrification.

• Electric school buses can reduce annual operational expenditures, such as fueling, maintenance, and repair, by an estimated $4,000 to $11,000 per bus compared to diesel models.
• As of January 2022, the U.S. market offered 22 ESB models from 12 manufacturers, consisting of 14 newly manufactured and 8 repowered models across Type A, C, and D categories.
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established the Clean School Bus Program, providing $5 billion over five years to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with $2.5 billion specifically dedicated to ESBs.
• ESBs offer significant health benefits for students, particularly those from low-income and Black communities who are more likely to use school buses, by eliminating tailpipe emissions linked to asthma and pneumonia.
• ESBs can function as mobile energy assets through bidirectional charging technology, allowing them to power buildings (V2B), other loads (V2L), or discharge energy back to the grid (V2G) to generate revenue.
• Repowered electric buses, which replace internal combustion engines in existing buses, can cost half as much as new ESBs and reduce waste by extending the life of the bus body.
• Charging infrastructure installation typically takes 12 to 24 months and requires early coordination with electric utilities to assess power supply and potential system upgrades.
• Extreme weather impacts ESB efficiency; for example, in Alaska, a bus operating in temperatures as low as -38 degrees Fahrenheit experienced its efficiency being halved.

APA

HUNTINGTON, A., WANG, J., BURGOYNE-ALLEN, P., WERTHMANN, E., & JACKSON, E. (2022). ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS U.S. MARKET STUDY AND BUYER’S GUIDE. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-08/electric-school-bus-us-market-study-buyers-guide.pdf?VersionId=eU.ZS.cHfSm5amd2VnUej22wtMhKyXLL

Chicago

HUNTINGTON, ALISSA, JESSICA WANG, PHILLIP BURGOYNE-ALLEN, EMMETT WERTHMANN, and ELEANOR JACKSON. ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS U.S. MARKET STUDY AND BUYER’S GUIDE. World Resources Institute, 2022. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-08/electric-school-bus-us-market-study-buyers-guide.pdf?VersionId=eU.ZS.cHfSm5amd2VnUej22wtMhKyXLL.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=HUNTINGTON |first1=ALISSA |last2=WANG |first2=JESSICA |last3=BURGOYNE-ALLEN |first3=PHILLIP |last4=WERTHMANN |first4=EMMETT |last5=JACKSON |first5=ELEANOR |title=ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS U.S. MARKET STUDY AND BUYER’S GUIDE |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=18 August 2022 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-08/electric-school-bus-us-market-study-buyers-guide.pdf?VersionId=eU.ZS.cHfSm5amd2VnUej22wtMhKyXLL |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{huntington2022electric, author = {HUNTINGTON, ALISSA and WANG, JESSICA and BURGOYNE-ALLEN, PHILLIP and WERTHMANN, EMMETT and JACKSON, ELEANOR}, title = {{ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS U.S. MARKET STUDY AND BUYER’S GUIDE}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-08/electric-school-bus-us-market-study-buyers-guide.pdf?VersionId=eU.ZS.cHfSm5amd2VnUej22wtMhKyXLL}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }