Less than 40% of EV school buses purchased with Biden-era EPA grants have been delivered: ‘Taxpayer dollars vanished’

Delays in receiving electric school buses and growing doubts about their dependability are causing some districts to withdraw from the federal Clean School Bus Program, despite nearly $2.7 billion in taxpayer funding already allocated—primarily for electric models over other clean fuel options. Critics argue the program’s focus on EVs may be misplaced if reliability and delivery timelines remain unresolved, raising questions about whether the transition to electric school fleets is feasible without major adjustments. With billions invested and few alternatives considered, the backlash highlights broader challenges in scaling up electric infrastructure for public transportation. The situation underscores tensions between federal funding commitments and the practical realities of deploying new technology at scale.

The slow pace of deliveries, coupled with concerns over the reliability of the EV buses, have prompted many school districts to pull out of the $5 billion “Clean School Bus Program,” for which some $2.7 billion in taxpayer funds has already been doled out -- and almost exclusively on electric buses versus other alternative fuel...