Arlington has been awarded $200,000 through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebate competition, funded by the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funds will be used to replace one diesel school bus with a battery electric school bus, bringing the total number of electric buses in the Arlington Public Schools’ fleet to three (out of 13 buses). The electrification of Arlington’s school bus fleet is part of the Town’s efforts to enhance air quality and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“The Town is thrilled to partner with the Arlington Public Schools as we work to reduce pollution across the municipal fleet and achieve our climate change mitigation goals,” said Town Manager Jim Feeney. “Even replacing one diesel bus with an electric bus improves the air that we all breathe here in Arlington.”
The CSB Rebate award builds on the Town’s successful electric school bus pilot, which officially added two new electric buses to the Schools’ fleet this past fall. The two buses from the pilot are estimated to avoid the use of approximately 2,100 gallons of diesel fuel and 21 tons of carbon dioxide per year. That’s equivalent to preserving approximately 22 acres of US forests in one year.
The Arlington Public Schools are among 17 school districts in Massachusetts and 67 communities across the country to receive funds for clean school buses. The total funding across Massachusetts through the CSB program tops $42 million.
“We are so grateful to be selected alongside communities across the state to benefit from this once-in-a-generation federal funding opportunity,” said Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Homan. “We know our efforts on climate change, including our electric bus projects, have important benefits for the health and the livable futures of our students, our staff, and the broader community.”
More information about Arlington’s climate and resilience planning efforts can be found on the Climate and Resiliency Planning page.