Two Washtenaw County schools are slated to receive rebate funding for electric school buses.
Ann Arbor Public Schools will receive rebate funding for four buses, and Saline Area Schools will receive rebate funding for three buses. In total, Washtenaw County will see $1.4 million through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program.
Dan Zbozien is an Environmental Quality Analyst with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. He says electric buses are better for the environment, and those that ride them.
“Mitigating the diesel exhaust, which is harmful to breathe in, especially for children where their lungs are still developing. So, that improves that situation right away."
The Clean School Bus program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
27 schools and school districts will receive a portion of the $24 million in rebates for electric school buses. Zbozien says allocating the funding through rebates allows the school systems to access the funding quicker than if it had been allocated through a grant program.
Zbozien says the program will also provide a new educational opportunity for students to learn more about electric vehicles and clean energy options.
“We’ve had a lot of students that enjoy it too. Enjoy learning not only the technology of what goes into creating an electric bus and how it operates, but also the environmental and human health benefit that it brings along.”
Zbozien says that because these school buses will be on a fixed, daily route with an opportunity to charge each night, he doesn’t foresee the range posing an issue to the project.
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