In the 2022 budget, the New York State Legislature and Governor Hochul established a deadline for the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) school buses to zero-emission buses. Specifically, all school buses purchased in New York State must be zero-emission buses by 2027 and all school buses operating within the State must be zero-emission by 2035. Zero-emission school buses are either electric school buses (also referred to as ESBs) or hydrogen fuel cell school buses. Also in 2022, State voters overwhelming voted for the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act(Bond Act), which includes $500M to support the transition to zero-emission school buses. NYSERDA has established the New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP) to distribute the Bond Act funding to school districts thus helping to achieve the State public purposes and assisting school districts in complying with the zero-emission school bus mandate.NYSBIP is a voucher incentive program aimed to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission school buses in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle weight classes. Voucher incentives facilitate fleet adoption of ESBs by reducing the upfront prices of ESBs, which are currently more expensive than comparable ICE school buses, and the associated Charging Infrastructure. Vouchers make it more affordable for fleets to gain experience with cleaner technologies that often cost less to operate than diesel and gasoline school buses. NYSERDA hopes that this reduction in cost will increase the use of zero-emission vehicle technologies. Increased use of zero-emission technologies benefits the health of students and drivers by improving air quality. When a zero-emission school bus replaces an ICE school bus it eliminates greenhouse gas and other harmful vehicle tailpipe emissions. A transition to zero-emission school buses also lessens the State’s transportation sector’s dependence on petroleum.
NYSBIP goals are to:
1. Accelerate the deployment of zero-emission bus technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
2. Reduce the upfront costs to New York State school districts of purchasing zero-emission school buses and associated Charging Infrastructure.
3. Provide environmental and health benefits to all New Yorkers, with a focus on improved outcomes for residents of Disadvantaged Communities as defined by the Climate Act.
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