A bill signed Aug. 4 by Gov. Phil Murphy requires the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to implement an Electric School Bus Program.
The initiative provides up to $45 million in funding over three years for the purchase of electric school buses and charging infrastructure across the Garden State.
“In order to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and optimally capitalize on the benefits of vehicle electrification, we must electrify not just the cars that bring us to work, but the buses that safely deliver children to school,” said Murphy. “Some of the most important vehicles traversing our state’s road and bridges are the buses connecting our children and families to our nation-leading public school system.”
Grants will be awarded to at least six school districts or bus contractors annually. In each of those years, at least half of the school districts selected by the NJDEP will be allocated to a low-income, urban or environmental justice community.
The first year’s funding will come from the General Fund while additional funding will come from the Clean Energy Fund and the Global Warming Solutions Fund (via Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative proceeds).
“By getting our children off diesel and on to electric school buses, we are better protecting their health and our entire communities from the particulate matter diesel buses spew into our neighborhoods,” said Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn LaTourette. “These investments will also help New Jersey to reduce its reliance on dirtier fossil fuels that are hastening climate change, extreme heat, and flooding.”
Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said the announcement is another step forward in a multiagency effort to electrify New Jersey’s transportation sector.
“These investments will also help New Jersey to reduce its reliance on dirtier fossil fuels that are hastening climate change, extreme heat, and flooding,” Fiordaliso said.
“The New Jersey Department of Education takes pride in partnering for this legislation in an effort to continue to reduce the impact of climate change,” said Angelica Allen-McMillan, acting commissioner of education.
The legislation was sponsored by Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, D-18th District; Assemblywoman Shama Haider, D-37th District; and Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake, D-34th District, who said in a statement that the diesel exhaust from buses negatively impacts overall health and is a major contributor to climate change.
“Under the Electric School Bus Program, New Jersey will spearhead a healthier, more efficient transportation system for students,” they said. “This new program gives our state the ability to explore different approaches for electrifying our bus fleets and will give us a better understanding of how to formulate the most effective processes in the future.”
“It is our responsibility as elected officials to ensure that those vehicles do not adversely affect the health outcomes of our students as they grow, learn, and prepare to lead New Jersey toward a more sustainable future themselves,” Murphy added.
