Electric School Buses Are Taking Off in Rural America

Across the United States, school districts are bringing the benefits of electric school buses to their communities. From improved air quality and quieter rides to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced fuel costs, these clean rides are delivering for students and schools.

The transition to electric school buses has taken off in districts of all sizes and geographies around the country. Rural districts make up the largest proportion of district types in the country, and with the help of intentional funding priorities and local interest, they now represent the largest proportion of electric school bus commitments.

In fact, data shows that 36% of school districts and fleet operators with at least one electric school bus committed – defined as awarded, ordered, delivered or operating – are in rural areas. That’s more than any other type of geography, such as urban areas, suburban districts or towns.

This surge is a significant jump from just a few years ago. In 2021, only 20% of school districts and fleet operators with a committed electric school bus were in rural geographies. 

Prioritizing rural districts

This electric school bus boom in rural America is no accident.

Rural districts saw an increase in electric school bus adoption in large part due to the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program (CSBP). The program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, designated $5 billion to replace diesel-burning school buses across the country between 2022 and 2026. The EPA is authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prioritize low-income, rural and Tribal districts. As of October 2024, 89% of total CSBP funds and 84% of awarded electric school buses went to “priority districts” that fell under one of these designations.  

Prioritizing rural districts helps to center equity in the transition to electric school buses. That’s because rural districts can particularly benefit from electric school buses due to the specific needs of their communities.  

Since rural areas are less densely populated, students often live farther away from schools, which means it takes longer to get to school. In fact, rural students travel nearly twice as far to school compared to urban students. Students living in rural districts and students from households with incomes less than $10,000 have the longest school commutes and are most likely to ride the school bus because they have fewer transportation options.  

All of these factors contribute to more time spent on the bus, which can increase students’ exposure to harmful pollutants. Diesel-burning school buses release diesel exhaust pollution, which can cause asthma, cancer and respiratory issues and is especially dangerous for kids, given their developing lungs. This pollution can stay in the cabin of the bus throughout the ride to school, so that students who are on longer routes may be exposed to lung-harming pollution for longer periods of time. Further, rural school districts disproportionately rely on older, more polluting diesel-burning school buses that lack modern emissions technology.  

Because electric school buses have no tailpipe emissions, they enable students to get to school without having to breathe harmful diesel exhaust from their bus—so students show up ready to learn. 

Rural districts are seeing the benefits of electric school buses

In Hertford County in northeast North Carolina, the local rural electric cooperative, Roanoke Cooperative, led the charge on electrifying the bus fleet for six school districts and a charter school. The Cooperative was interested in bringing electric school buses to its schools as a result of the organization’s mission to meet the needs of the community with initiatives like expanded telehealth services, broadband access and solar and battery storage programs.

“When you talk about the challenges of living in an impoverished area, in that type of environment, anything that we can do to help our member-owners offset the other challenges that they may face – breathing clean air, having access to healthy food,” said Angella Dunston, Roanoke Cooperative’s Public Relations & Engagement Coordinator.   

Fleming County, in the rural foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, serves around 2,200 students across six schools. Before transitioning to electric school buses, the district was spending more than $10,000 each year on maintenance of their aging diesel-burning school buses.  Besides maintenance, the district also spent approximately $0.60 per mile on fuel for those buses. But with the new electric school buses, the district pays $0.12 per mile for energy, which is a cost savings of 80% per mile—and initial projections of $12,000 saved in fuel per month. Fleming County has used those savings to help fund a district-wide teacher pay increase.  

Fleming County’s routes are also long and hilly, but drivers have found that electric school buses outperformed the diesel-burning school buses on the hills. Regenerative braking technology takes advantage of the inclines of the terrain to extend the battery range while in route. One driver found that thanks to regenerative braking, the battery went from 77% charged at the beginning of the route to 82% at the end. In total, transitioning to electric school buses is set to save the county more than $600,000 annually in diesel fuel and operational savings once all 24 electric school buses are on the road.  

Rural Tribal districts have distinct needs and history when it comes to school transportation. According to a 2017 report from the Government Accountability Office, Tribal districts can have rougher road surfaces and infrastructure that causes more wear and tear on the bus, leading to more bus maintenance and longer bus routes because of unpaved roads.  

Maine Indian Education, which operates three schools near the northeast border of Maine and Canada, currently has two electric school buses in use and one on the way for Sipayik Elementary School. Student health was a major consideration for electrifying the fleet, particularly because of the higher rates of respiratory conditions in the community. Nationally, Native children face elevated asthma rates compared to non-Native children. Maine Indian Education also expects to see major cost savings, with projections indicating an 80% reduction in fuel costs and a 60% decrease in maintenance expenses.