Electric vehicles are seeing a huge surge in demand. School buses are no exception. In response to this demand, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will nearly double its Clean School Bus rebate program in an effort to proliferate more emissions-friendly vehicles to school districts across the country.

The Clean School Bus program is designed to help school districts acquire low or zero-emission school busses for their fleets. The EPA initially made $500 million available for the initiative. However, they received around 2,000 applications for around a total of $4 billion.

Though the program is not just for fully electric vehicles, that makes up the bulk of the requests. More than 90% of the requested buses were electric, zero-emission buses. Buses powered by propane made up nearly 9% of applications, while buses powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) made up 1%.

According to a news release the program will target underserved communities with the rebates.

“The 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates prioritizes low-income, rural, and Tribal communities. The vast majority of applicants met the priority definition under the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates criteria, resulting in access to more funds for buses and electric vehicle infrastructure for schools in areas that need them the most.”

Reducing emissions to fight climate change has been a priority for the current administration.