Additional funding from third-party multistate grantees First Student Inc. and Highland CSB 1 is helping the state buy electric buses for additional public school districts in Michigan. The buses will be distributed as follows: 10 in Flint, 5 in Redford Union No. 1 near Detroit, 2 in Mason County, 2 in Brimley, and 2 in the West Shore Educational Service District in Ludington.
Zachary Kolodin, Michigan’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, commends Detroit, Lansing, and Pontiac for their Clean School Bus Program wins. The federal dollars allocated to these school districts will purchase new electric buses, providing a safer and cleaner travel option for students. Each electric bus has the potential to eliminate 1,690 tons of CO2 over its lifetime, which is equivalent to taking 27 cars off the road. The CBSP awards offer a total of $5 billion in federal funding for school bus electrification across the U.S., supporting the purchase of approximately 5,000 electric and low-emission school buses.
In Michigan, approximately 17,000 school buses are used to transport over 800,000 students annually. The transportation sector accounts for 28% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Previous funding has been granted for electric buses in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) contributed a $4.2 million grant for charging stations and the purchase of the state’s first 17 electric school buses, utilized by seven school districts. In 2022, Michigan received a $54 million CBSP funding to acquire 138 electric school buses and infrastructure equipment for 25 school districts.
For further thoughts or inquiries, Zachary Kolodin can be contacted at [email protected] or found on X at @zacharyvisconti. Tips can be sent to [email protected].