When 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created the Clean School Bus Program (CSBP), it established a $5 billion investment to replace diesel-burning school buses with cleaner vehicles, like electric school buses. In its first four years, this landmark program has delivered cleaner air to school districts with millions of students in rural, urban and suburban neighborhoods, while ushering in a new era of heavy-duty vehicle manufacturing jobs in communities across the country. It is imperative that the remaining funds are made available and awarded as instructed by law to keep delivering clean air to kids and driving American jobs.

So far, nearly $3 billion in CSBP funding has been awarded to more than 1,200 school districts nationwide across 48 states. These investments have funded more than 8,000 electric school buses, with local demand for CSBP dollars from school districts in red and blue states far outpacing available funds. An additional $2.3 billion in support has come from state programs that provide important complementary investments.

Surging demand drives job growth

This surge in demand for clean, reliable electric school buses has driven expansive manufacturing industry growth, creating thousands of jobs and bringing millions of dollars of investments to communities nationwide. 

Today, there are 21 manufacturing facilities in 13 states involved in the production of electric school buses. From the battery belt in Georgia and North Carolina, to Midwest states like Michigan and Indiana, these investments are creating thousands of jobs and delivering real benefits for workers, local economies, school districts and students.

This industry growth is closely tied to policy incentives, which is why support for the CSBP and other funding is vital to maintaining and encouraging manufacturing investments.

However, President Donald Trump’s recent executive order pausing disbursements of funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has introduced uncertainty about the future of the CSBP. Of the $5 billion authorized and appropriated by Congress for the CSBP, $2 billion has yet to be awarded. Additionally, some funding from already announced program awards is still pending disbursement — meaning school districts that were preparing for and relying upon these awards are now in limbo, and manufacturers that planned to deliver vehicles may not be able to fulfill these orders.

Federal policymakers should ensure remaining CSBP funds are awarded and dispersed as instructed by law. State policymakers should continue to complement these investments through electric school bus funding and financing programs with support for technical assistance, charging infrastructure and workforce development, while also adopting Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) standards.  

Electric school bus investments are creating jobs in communities nationwide

The CSBP has already delivered thousands of electric school buses to students across the country, while supporting jobs in the communities that produce the buses and their component parts.

According to one analysis, if all CSBP funding is awarded, this program is expected to create thousands of jobs while adding billions of dollars into the U.S. economy. Blue Bird, GreenPower and Thomas Built Buses — three major electric school bus manufacturers — have announced plans for more than 1,500 new manufacturing jobs combined in the coming years.

Electric school buses have become a key part of manufacturing growth in the United States, and the electric school bus supply chain is particularly economically impactful in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma and West Virginia, where major facilities are located. The electric school bus manufacturing industry includes original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), bus body builders, cutaway chassis manufacturers, repower and retrofit companies, and electric powertrain suppliers of parts like batteries, motors and electric axles.

Electric school bus manufacturing is on the rise in the United States

The electric school bus supply chain has grown rapidly in recent years, with American manufacturers adding new facilities, joint ventures and jobs to keep up with increasing demand. This growth is happening across the country in places like:

• Columbus, Indiana: Cummins, which supplies powertrain and battery components to Blue Bird, was awarded a $75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to convert 360,000 square feet of manufacturing space for zero-emission components and electric powertrain systems. This investment is expected to create 250 new jobs.
• Fort Valley, Georgia: Blue Bird opened a new 400-job EV Build-up facility at their existing Fort Valley, Georgia, manufacturing campus in 2023, supporting a total of 2,000 jobs related to electric school bus manufacturing. The new facility is intended to increase manufacturing capacity to 5,000 electric school buses annually and was recently awarded an $80 million Department of Energy grant.
• High Point, North Carolina: Thomas Built Buses added 280 jobs and expanded production to support increased demand for electric school buses.
• South Charleston, West Virginia: GreenPower opened a new electric school bus manufacturing facility that is expected to employ up to 900 skilled workers once it reaches full capacity.
• Plattsburgh, New York: Microbird, a Blue Bird and Girardin joint-venture entity, announced a New York manufacturing facility investment in November 2024. The new facility is expected to employ 350 workers. 

Electric school bus manufacturing also supports thousands of jobs in related industries in the United States. Manufacturers and suppliers have a ripple effect, creating even more jobs from local third-party businesses, including fabricators, wiring assemblers, bus seat producers, wheelchair lift manufacturers and more. 

A WRI report on Michigan’s electric vehicle industry found that for each manufacturing job in the electric vehicle industry, there were over three additional jobs created. Another report from the University of Michigan found that auto plants grew their workforces after transitioning to electric vehicle production, with some plants seeing significant job growth. This counteracts some previous predictions that the switch to EVs would result in a loss of assembly jobs.

Beyond the sustained growth of electric school bus manufacturers, the battery manufacturing industry has also seen major job growth in the United States, supported by investments in electric vehicles. As of February 2024, one analysis showed more than 98,000 jobs had been announced across the sector, representing $130 billion in investments, with the largest investments in Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina.

Electric school bus manufacturing jobs benefit workers

Crucially, jobs in the electric school bus manufacturing sector are high-quality jobs that offer full-time employment, benefits and family-sustaining wages.

In a recent public report,* nearly all responding North American-owned electric school bus manufacturers confirmed that full-time workers are offered health insurance, paid leave and a retirement plan. Blue Bird, Microbird and Thomas Built Buses reported that at least 90% of their employees are employed permanently on a full-time basis.

In communities with electric school bus manufacturing facilities, these jobs have quickly become an important source of economic opportunity for workers:

• Fort Valley, Georgia: In 2024, 1,500 unionized employees at Blue Bird’s plant received a 12% raise, while securing additional benefits including retirement plans, profit sharing and improved health and safety.
• High Point, North Carolina: An employee at Thomas Built Buses’ plant in High Point told Jobs to Move America that the company’s production of electric school buses is creating jobs for workers in the community, providing meaningful retirement benefits, job security and safety.
• South Charleston, West Virginia: Graduates from the local school district have found well-paying jobs at GreenPower’s South Charleston facility, which allows the area to keep local talent in West Virginia, according to the school’s superintendent.

In a number of states, electric school bus manufacturers are also collaborating with unions to deliver meaningful work and fair wages. Workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements at Blue Bird’s facility in Georgia, IC Bus’s Oklahoma plant and Thomas Built Bus’s North Carolina location.

This manufacturing boom is the direct result of strategic investments like CSBP funding, alongside state electric school bus policies and investments. Today, the robust network of electric school bus jobs throughout the country supports local economies and drives jobs growth across related manufacturing sectors. Policymakers should continue to ensure this job creation benefits workers and communities.

Electric school bus deployments are benefiting school districts while supporting local industries

The CSBP and state-level funding programs have also delivered other local benefits that go beyond direct manufacturing impacts. 

Electric school buses have significantly lower operational costs than diesel-burning school buses, including lower fuel and maintenance costs. That means that when paired with funding sources, electric school buses can have a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than diesel-burning school buses, and districts can expect to see over $100,000 in cost savings over the lifetime of each bus. Across the country, school districts are taking advantage of those cost savings by reinvesting funds back into the classroom, making infrastructure improvements, hiring new teachers and providing pay raises to retain high-quality teachers.

When school districts add electric school buses to their fleets, they further support local jobs, including mechanics and construction workers who install charging infrastructure. By providing funding that leads to the creation of these jobs, the CSBP and state incentive programs create economic benefits even in districts far from electric school bus manufacturing hubs.

The future of electric school bus jobs

The rapid growth of the electric school bus industry has largely been driven by the CSBP and other policies that have made it possible for school districts to deliver a clean ride for their students.

To make sure the full job creation and economic benefits of electric school bus investments are realized and sustained:

• Federal policymakers should:
  • Disburse all awarded CSBP funding to honor contractual obligations and ensure business certainty for manufacturers.
  • Ensure that the remaining $2 billion in CSBP funding is awarded to school districts as directed by law to maximize electric school bus production and give more kids a clean ride to school.
  • Preserve tax credits and direct pay and transferability mechanisms, which have helped enable school districts to achieve cost savings through electric school buses.
• State policymakers should:
  • Implement electric school bus funding and financing programs at the state level to enable school districts to take advantage of cost savings while supporting community investments in clean student transportation and the jobs that come with it.
  • Adopt Advance Clean Trucks (ACT) standards that reduce harmful pollution and spur investment in clean heavy-duty vehicles, like electric school buses.

The Clean School Bus Program shows how investments in electric school buses bring significant economic benefits, incentivize private investment and create more jobs in American manufacturing.