Six school districts across Ohio are set to receive electric school buses as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funded the Clean School Bus Program, which will provide $5 billion over five years (FY 2022-2026) to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and clean school buses.
The program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), offers rebates to replace existing school buses with clean and zero-emission models. Entities must submit an application through the EPA’s competitive process in order to receive a rebate for the purchase of new electric buses.
The latest round of funding for the Clean School Bus Program approved applications from the following school districts in Ohio to purchase new, electric school buses in replacement of current diesel-fueled buses:
- Youngstown City – 15 buses
- Euclid City – 10 buses
- Cincinnati Public Schools – 10 buses
- Campbell City – 1 bus
- Mt. Healthy City – 12 buses
- Struthers City – 1 bus
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said the new buses will “improve air quality for Ohio kids by reducing pollution.”
“By investing in electric and alternatively-fueled buses, we can help reduce and even eliminate harmful pollution linked to higher asthma rates in kids,” Brown said in a statement. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re taking concrete action to make sure our kids are breathing clean air while heading to school – while creating jobs and growing our economy.”
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set aside almost $19 billion to provide entities nationwide with new electric vehicles, buses, and ferries.
The new fleets of electric school buses awarded to the six school districts across Ohio comes as the state’s capital, Columbus, touts its recent ranking among the best U.S. cities for climate change.
Policygenius, citing the work through Columbus Democrat Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s Climate Action Plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, said the city is the third most “well-positioned to adapt to its changing climate.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
