Last week at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Advanced Energy United was joined by state legislators and a coalition of stakeholders advocating for electric school buses and a bill that would allow more school districts in the state to buy them. Legislators experienced the benefits of electric school buses firsthand, riding along in one provided by Steelton-Highspire School District, which procured new buses with funding from the federal government for clean transportation.
After the ride-along, United, the Electrification Coalition, First Student, Steelton-Highspire School District, Moms Clean Air Force, and Generation 180 held a press conference calling for action on a bill to fund more electric school buses for schools across the Keystone State. They were joined by Rep. Dave Madsen, Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, and Steelton-Highspire Superintendent Dr. Mick Iskric, Jr.
Right now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has a program for school districts across the country to receive grant funding for new electric school buses. Some Pennsylvania schools have been able to secure U.S. EPA funding, but demand is far outpacing supply, preventing many interested school districts from securing funding or technical assistance.
That’s where Pennsylvania’s Electric School Bus Grant Program would come in.
Last year, Rep. Brandon Markosek introduced HB 1542, to create the Pennsylvania Electric School Bus Grant Program. This legislation would provide school districts with new funding for electric school bus procurement as well as infrastructure investments like charging stations and their installation, depot and facility upgrades, and other costs of fleet electrification through the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The bill would also provide the Commonwealth with resources to provide ongoing technical assistance to interested school districts, which will help Pennsylvania’s school officials secure the EPA funding that some schools are currently missing out on.
Electric school buses could provide substantial cost savings to the schools procuring them, through lower fuel and maintenance costs compared to their diesel counterparts. As I emphasized during the event, school districts could save an average of $6,000 annually per bus on operational costs alone.
Bus electrification doesn’t just offer school districts financial benefits, there are also significant health benefits for the students riding those buses on a daily basis. Researchers have established that electric buses, like the one from Steelton-Highspire, reduce children’s exposure to air pollution and can even improve their school attendance. Additionally, as Rep. Madsen emphasized during the press conference, an electric school bus is significantly quieter than a traditional diesel bus. Quieter bus trips mean kids show up at school focused and ready to engage with the curriculum.
As HB 1542 moves to the House floor for consideration by the entire chamber, the momentum for electric school buses in Pennsylvania is undeniable. It’s critical that Pennsylvania’s lawmakers recognize the long-term benefits of this investment and prioritize swift passage of HB 1542. It’s a golden opportunity to ensure that more school districts—especially those that have been left behind by federal programs—have access to the resources they need to electrify their fleets. The future of cleaner, healthier, and quieter rides to school is within reach.
Pictured from left to right: Nicholas Bibby of Advanced Energy United; Matthew E. Chen of United member company Blink Charging; Kevin King of First Student; Shannon Crooker of Generation180; Brooke Petry of Moms Clean Air Force; Maxwell Turner of Electrification Coalition; Jordan Neerhof of Electrification Coalition; and Mick Iskric, Jr., Ed.D. of Steelton-Highspire School District.