JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday unveiled nearly $1 billion for public schools to rejuvenate its old school bus fleet with cleaner models, especially electric models.
The funding is the first phase of $5 billion which will be provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for five years, through a clean school bus program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act in 2021.
The disbursement of the funds will support the purchase of 2,463 buses, 95 percent of which are electricity, said the White House. That will be given to school districts in all 50 states.
It is known that the EPA clean school bus program is part of a broader push by the government, to improve public school infrastructure and reduce pollution from old buses.
It also helps fulfill US President Joe Biden's promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, channeling federal investment to underserved communities.
The transition to the national electric school bus fleet will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.3 million tons per year, according to a study by the Public Interest Research Group non-profit. That's almost the same as turning off a coal factory for a year, according to the EPA calculator.
Last month, the EPA said it plans to double its $1,500 million clean bus award budget for the year, due to the incredible demand from the school district. The EPA plans to disburse another US$1 billion under next year's program.
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