INDIANAPOLIS — Officials with Indianapolis Public Schools recently announced that 10 electric school buses and chargers will be added to the district.
According to a news release from the district, Indianapolis Public Schools partnered with First Student, a transportation service provider, to purchase the buses. The company secured $3.95 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to purchase the 10 buses and chargers.
Officials said the funding came from the agency’s Clean School Bus program, which aims at bringing zero-emission student transportation to more communities. First Student will work with the district to deploy the new electric buses over the next 18 months.
“This significant investment from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program allows First Student and IPS to take a giant leap towards environmental responsibility,” IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in the release. “Together, we are driving change and paving the way for a greener, more sustainable education system.”
The program allocates funds for school districts to help cover the costs of the zero-emission buses. This comes after the EPA gave First Student funds for 170 electric school buses between 12 school districts. First District aims at transitioning 30,000 of its diesel-powered buses to electric by 2035, according to the release.
