Fall River and New Bedford To Receive Federal Funding for New Electric School Buses

Today, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding Massachusetts funding for 85 electric school buses under the Clean Bus Grant Program to help school districts replace polluting diesel school buses with electric or low-emission school buses.

“After years of fighting for investments in clean energy, I’m glad that we are able to deliver federal funding for a fleet of new electric school buses in Massachusetts. With this funding, we can reduce health risks from air pollution, boost domestic manufacturing while creating good-paying jobs in the process, and fight the climate crisis for the next generation. This is a big win for our communities, and I will keep fighting for more of these investments,” said Senator Warren.

“This new funding for clean school buses from the Biden administration is going to help keep our communities and children safe from pollution, while creating a more livable future for Massachusetts residents and Americans all across this country,” said Senator Markey. “We fought hard to include this funding in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and I thank the EPA for enabling Massachusetts to continue down the road to cleaner air.”

Massachusetts will be receiving several Clean School Bus Awards to serve the school districts of Boston, Fall River, New Bedford and Worcester.

Senator Warren has actively advocated for federal funding to jumpstart the transition to all-electric public vehicles and rail and to help tackle the climate crisis:

On July 2023, Senator Warren sent a letter to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and 33 Commonwealth municipalities, highlighting the benefits of electrifying the Commonwealth’s school bus fleets and encouraging the Associations and their members to take full advantage of the newly-announced EPA Clean School Bus Grants Program Notice of Funding Opportunity .

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill’s EPA Clean School Bus Program, with a historic $5 billion investment for low- and zero-emission school buses, was modeled from Senator Warren’s BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which would provide $500 billion in grant funding over ten years for modernizing our infrastructure and electrifying public transit systems, including school buses.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, includes $1 billion for states, municipalities, tribes, and nonprofit school transportation associations to use for clean heavy duty vehicles, like school and transit buses and garbage trucks, all in part funded by Senator Warren’s Corporate Profits Minimum Tax to ensure America’s largest corporations pay at least 15% of their massive profits in federal taxes.