Free electric school buses? Stackable incentives nearly make it a reality
The days of kids sitting at the bus stop breathing toxic fumes may soon come to an end with new incentives that make electric school buses nearly free for school districts to obtain.
Why zero-emission school buses need to be prioritized
School buses pick up over 25 million children yearly, covering around 5.7 billion miles. However, on each trip, exhaust from traditional buses can harm riders and the communities that they serve.
According to some estimates, diesel school buses, which still account for the vast majority of the nation’s fleet, emit over 40 toxic air containments, carcinogens, and other fine particle matter.
These toxic particles are known to cause respiratory issues like Asthma, which over six million US children suffer from. Furthermore, studies show that toxic fumes can be several times higher inside the school bus than on the outside as it idles.
Although newer school buses have improved somewhat to meet stricter EPA guidelines, these are primarily concentrated in higher-income areas, leaving lower-income communities at a disadvantage.
To address these concerns, several companies, such as The Lion Electric Co., Highland Electric Fleets, Blue Bird, and several others, have worked to introduce practical zero-emission electric school buses.
For example, Lion Electric’s LionC EV school bus fits up to 72 passengers with range options from 100 to 155 miles per charge. According to the company, each Lion electric bus can prevent 25 tons of GHG (equivalent to removing five gas-powered cars) from escaping annually.
Electric school buses offer additional benefits other than protecting our communities, such as saving school districts on gas (it costs around 14 cents per mile for electricity and 49 cents per mile for diesel) and maintenance costs. They can even be used as backup energy using V2G when grid demand is highest to save on electricity.
A school district in California expects to save over $250,000 each year on fuel costs alone with 30 new Blue Bird electric school buses. Perhaps, more importantly, new incentives make them almost free for schools to get their hands on.
Free electric school buses, you say?
The recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $5 billion in funding through its Clean School Bus Program over the next five years to replace the US’s school bus fleet.
School districts are eligible for up to $375,000 to replace their existing diesel buses with electric. With the average cost of an electric school bus around $400,000, that makes it nearly free upfront. Furthermore, schools can take advantage of another $20,000 per EV for charging infrastructure to help offset the costs of installing charging stations.
In May, the EPA announced the availability of $500 million for 2022, but overwhelming demand, particularly in low-income communities, pushed the administration to nearly double it to $965.
The funds will be used to replace around 2,500 school buses in almost 400 districts. The EPA says it will provide another $1 billion for clean school buses for 2023. School districts can take advantage of additional savings to convert their fleet to electric with incentives such as a $40,000 rebate for commercial vehicles (which includes school buses) provided through the Inflation Reduction Act and also by working with utility companies to find financial support.
Districts can stack these incentives and rebates to cut the cost of buying an electric school bus to nearly nothing. Not only will the children and communities they vow to protect be cleaner, but it will also save them money in the long run. The only question now is, why wouldn’t you go electric?
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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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