Electric school bus funding goes round and round in Minnesota as districts replace diesel vehicles

Transportation to and from school will be cleaner and quieter for thousands of Minnesota students thanks to new federal funding.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $22 million to 15 Minnesota school districts in May for the purchase of 67 new electric school buses.

There are about 10 electric school buses operating in the state today, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The districts that received EPA rebates in May are still working to acquire their buses. About 100 electric buses will be carrying Minnesota students to school in the near future with the help of federal, state and private funding, according to the MPCA.

The EPA Clean School Bus Initiative designated $5 billion toward transitioning the country’s school buses, and has been offering yearly grant and rebate programs since 2022. The federal rebate program for bus purchases will open again this fall, with nearly $1 billion in funding available nationwide.

“There is an opportunity right now to get a lot of funding for these buses,” said Daniel Trajano, a medical doctor who teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Trajano is involved with local climate group MN350, and found data showing that electric buses have clear health and environmental benefits. Trajano and his wife, a fellow physician, began advocating for school districts to pursue cleaner transportation. He joined representatives from the EPA, MPCA and a Hopkins school board member to discuss electric buses at the Minnesota State Fair.

The May rebates were doled out to districts across the state, with Rochester and St. Paul schools receiving the largest allotments — $8.6 million to purchase 25 buses each.

Those buses should make a difference in student health and performance, experts say. Diesel exhaust is known to damage lung function and even harm concentration skills, Trajano said.

“Kids absolutely learn better and think better when they don’t breathe these fumes,” Trajano said.

‘They work’

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency launched an electric school bus pilot program in 2020 using money the state received when German carmaker Volkswagen settled with the EPA for lying about emissions. The MPCA released a report on the pilot program in May, which declared the buses can work well in the North Star State despite concerns about battery range during cold winters.

The pilot program awarded eight electric buses to districts from Osseo to Fergus Falls. The buses traveled an average of 71 miles each day, and had a maximum daily mileage of 119 miles. The distance electric vehicles can travel decreases in the winter, which can be a limiting factor for some rural routes.

The buses in the pilot program were available for 83% of the school year, the MPCA report found. Electric range seemed to suffer on dirt roads, and appeared better in urban and suburban settings, but the findings were encouraging.

“They work,” Trajano said. “On specific routes, there is no problem.”

The buses are generally seen as cheaper to maintain, and much cheaper to fuel. The average savings of powering an electric bus versus a diesel bus was $430 per month, according to the MPCA report. They also significantly reduce noise, remove exhaust smell and accelerate more smoothly.

However, startup costs for electric school buses are more expensive than for diesel buses, and can cost up to $400,000 each, which includes the cost of charging infrastructure. But government funding creates opportunities to buy the buses outright, or make up the difference between the cost of a diesel bus.

Hopkins School Board member Brooke Roper joined Trajano and representatives from the EPA and MPCA at the Minnesota State Fair to encourage school districts to apply for the next round of electric school bus funding.

Roper saw her son, CJ, suffer an asthma attack when he was four years old. She wanted to mitigate its impact, and happened upon information about electric school buses in her research. She was enthralled by the potential of electric buses, which motivated her to run for Hopkins School Board. She was elected last year, and the district is now applying for electric school bus funding, she said.

CJ rides a diesel powered bus now, and his asthma has flared up a bit. Roper, who is Black,  sees electric school buses as a chance to reduce racial disparities. The student body at Hopkins Public Schools is about half children of color. Those kids deserve to breathe clean air on their way to and from school, and the federal funding presents an opportunity for districts to add electric buses to their fleets, Roper said.

“Folks are really starting to champion what electric school buses can do for the kids,” she said.

Health, environmental benefits

Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota, according to the MPCA. Replacing diesel buses with electric vehicles can bring environmental benefits and health benefits for kids.

Kids are especially vulnerable to exhaust from diesel fuel because their bodies are still developing, according to Sara Adar, professor of environmental health sciences and epidemiology at the University of Michigan.

“The pollution can really damage that process and set them up for worse lung function over their lifetime,” said Adar, who studies air pollution and has researched the impact of electric buses.

Diesel buses have gotten cleaner over time, but even new models expel exhaust that is harmful to inhale and bad for the environment, she said.

“Our number one priority should be to get the oldest, most polluting buses off the road,” said Adar.

Minnesota has removed most pre-2010 diesel buses from the road using grants and money from the Volkswagen settlement, according to Frank Kolasch, assistant commissioner of the MPCA.

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