What you need to know:
- New research finds that switching to electric school buses in the U.S. could generate $1.6 billion annually in health and climate benefits.
- States seeing the greatest benefits include Texas, Florida, New York, California, New Jersey, North Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Maryland.
- Around 90% of U.S. school buses still run on diesel, many of which lack modern emissions controls and cause disproportionate pollution.
- The study provides county-specific data, showing where electric buses would deliver the biggest health and environmental returns.
New research from the World Resources Institute's Electric Bus Initiative and Carleton University finds that introducing battery-electric school buses in the U.S. could generate an estimated $1.6 billion in societal benefits, with Texas, Florida, and New York seeing the greatest gains from replacing older diesel bus models.
The study, whose data was collected from the lower 48 states, estimates the societal costs of continuing to use diesel buses versus battery-electric alternatives by measuring two key metrics: health impacts and climate effects. By analyzing costs at the local level, the study estimates annual societal benefits in dollar terms for every county in the U.S.
Essentially, the study finds that counties—particularly those with large populations and higher proportions of people of color—would gain the most by replacing old diesel buses with battery-electric models.
Data collection explained
To date, roughly 90% of the half a million school buses currently in operation still run on diesel, and those aforementioned older diesel buses lack modern emissions controls, meaning they produce higher pollution levels compared to newer diesels and, obviously, battery-electrics. The study's authors add that electric school buses still have the lowest greenhouse gas footprint at the national level when taking into account emissions produced for the necessary electricity generation.
Additionally, the study assessed the impact of diesel buses, including both their operation and the fuel supply chain, to estimate the benefits of switching to electric models.
The health impacts were estimated by linking diesel bus pollution to excess deaths, then converting that into dollar values using the EPA's Value of a Statistical Life. Climate impacts were calculated using Brooking's Social Cost of Carbon, which estimates the economic damage from CO2 emissions, including effects like extreme heat and rising sea levels.
It should also be noted that the study focused only on deaths from particulate matter, meaning it likely underestimated the full list of health benefits of electric school buses. Researchers then modeled and compared the societal impacts, specifically health and climate, of diesel and electric buses, including emissions from electricity generation, to estimate annual benefits by county.
Using advanced models and county-level data, the study traced pollution back to its source to show where electric buses could deliver the most significant gains. It did not, however, analyze ownership or operating costs (another discussion entirely), but rather only the broader societal impacts.
Findings and conclusion
Electric school buses provide major health and climate benefits in nearly every U.S. county, with nationwide adoption estimated to deliver upwards of $1.6 billion in annual societal gains.
In fact, counties can gain from switching to electric school buses, with average yearly benefits of over $509,000. In some areas, those benefits could exceed $30 million each year.
US map showing health and climate benefits of electric school buses by countyWorld Resources Institute
