What you need to know: California is investing $500 million to help add 1,000 clean school buses across the state, and demand for incentives supporting zero-emission buses and trucks has more than doubled year-over-year.

SACRAMENTO - California’s transition to zero-emission transportation is accelerating faster than ever thanks to incentives and investments from the state.

Following an announcement last August on plans to expand California’s largest-in-the-nation zero-emission school bus fleet, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that $500 million has been awarded for educational agencies to buy zero-emission school buses and chargers. 

Governor Newsom also announced that California saw a 177% increase in the state’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) from 2023 to 2024. This program is funded primarily with proceeds from the cap-and-trade program and provides point-of-sale discounts to make zero-emission trucks and buses more accessible for fleets and businesses. In February alone more than 200 HVIP-funded zero-emission trucks and buses were deployed with $31 million in incentives.

California is paving the way to a cleaner, healthier future by investing in zero-emission vehicles across the state. From clean buses for kids in some of our most polluted communities to electric semi-trucks that provide the backbone for California businesses – we’re proving that clean transportation is here to stay. - Governor Gavin Newsom

Why it matters

Clean school buses funded by the state are expected to reduce 18,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually - equivalent to taking more than 4,000 cars off the road for a year. Over 70% of the zero-emission school buses in use are in California’s most pollution-burdened communities.

 While trucks total just 6% of vehicles on California’s roads, they account for over 35% of the state’s transportation emissions. Clean vehicles purchased through HVIP are helping to significantly cut emissions statewide, with 340+ million miles logged since the start of the program. while.

Investing in clean school buses

The Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) project has selected 133 educational agencies to receive 1,000 zero-emission school buses and related charging infrastructure in rural, low-income, and disadvantaged school districts and other local educational entities. The grants are expected to be finalized by the end of the year. A map of awardees can be viewed here.

“Cleaning up the state’s school bus fleet is central to California’s efforts to provide clean transportation in priority communities that are disproportionately hurt by air pollution,” said California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph. “The vast majority of these grants will go to local educational agencies that serve these communities.”

To date, California has provided more than $1.3 billion in incentives to school districts, funding more than 2,300 zero-emission school buses, of which 1,100 are already in use. More than 300 California school districts and local education agencies have purchased at least one zero-emission school bus – and a few have made the switch to a 100% clean fleet.

“California has set important benchmarks for removing internal combustion vehicles from our roads and replacing them with clean transportation,” said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild. “CEC is helping school districts move in that direction by funding ZESBI.”

Zero-emission school buses play a key role in California’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and help protect children who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts from diesel exhaust. In California, all school bus purchases made by school districts will need to be zero-emission technology by 2035, with an extension until 2045 for frontier local educational agencies in rural communities.

Incentivizing clean trucks and buses

Over 15 years, the state’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) invested $754 million, helping 2,000 fleets deploy 10,000 clean trucks and buses. These vehicles have logged 340+ million miles while significantly cutting emissions statewide. Over 5,000 HVIP-funded ZEVs are in production to meet surging demand.

HVIP is a CARB program administered by CALSTART, a nonprofit transportation organization. Sales of new zero-emission trucks, buses and vans doubled in 2023 over the previous year, representing one out of every six new vehicles sold for services including last-mile delivery, freight transportation, and school buses. 16,327 charging and hydrogen fueling points for zero-emission trucks and buses are installed across the state.