Today, most U.S. school buses still run on diesel, exposing students—especially those in low-income communities and communities of color—to harmful pollution. ESBs provide meaningful health, climate, economic, and workforce benefits, but several obstacles continue to slow full adoption. This roadmap draws on insights from a 2024 national summit, in-depth interviews across the school bus ecosystem led by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), and WRI’s synthesis of market data and expert peer review. Its goal is to identify the challenges, solutions, and actionable steps needed to achieve nationwide electrification of the U.S. school bus fleet.

Key challenges include the higher upfront cost of ESBs compared to diesel buses, complex and costly charging infrastructure deployments that often depend on utility coordination and grid capacity, and deployment challenges and misconceptions that complicate decision-making, particularly for underserved districts navigating tight budgets and limited staff capacity.

Addressing these barriers will require systems-level solutions. These include achieving total cost of ownership (TCO) parity by aligning upfront prices with long-term savings, reducing the cost and time associated with charging infrastructure through better planning and stronger utility partnerships, and supporting effective deployment through improved training, workforce development, and operational assistance.

Over the next one to three years, stakeholders must work together to accelerate progress. Priority actions include advancing toward TCO parity, expanding aggregated procurement, improving ESB revenue opportunities, and strategically increasing funding and financing. Stakeholders should also strengthen utility readiness and grid planning, while providing ongoing support to districts, communities, and the workforce through technical assistance, training, and efforts to close information gaps and address misinformation.

How we can fully electrify school bus fleet infographic