Clean Commute for Kids Act Would Move the U.S. Toward Cleaner Air

“All children deserve a healthy environment and that includes a clean commute to school. As students in the United States transition back to in-person schooling, this is a critical time to accelerate the shift of our school bus fleets from polluting diesel to clean electric buses. That’s why we are grateful to Senators Padilla (D-CA) and Warnock (D-GA) and Representatives Hayes (D-CT) and Cardenas (D-CA) for introducing the Clean Commute for Kids Act, ensuring that the transition to a clean transportation future includes every person in the United States, even those too young to drive. 

“Clean school buses are a vital part of ensuring climate pollution reductions and improving the health of students, one of the populations most affected by climate impacts and poor air quality in the United States. This bill will increase deployment of electric school buses and supporting infrastructure throughout the United States, especially in low-income school districts. It will also help scale up the ability of electric school buses to provide critical grid services which increases resiliency and can provide new economic opportunities for local communities.”

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

The Clean Commute for Kids Act creates a grant program in the EPA to reauthorize the clean school bus authority and provide $25 billion over ten years to fund zero emission school buses. It also calls for the EPA to coordinate with the Department of Energy to explore advanced capabilities for electric buses, including their ability to increase grid resiliency and provide new economic opportunities through vehicle-to-grid technology.