Cárdenas Announces Nearly $1.5 Billion in Grant Funds He Helped Secure in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Create Clean Bus Fleets and Facilities

Press Release

Today, Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) joined Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Transit Administration Administrator Nuria Fernandez at a White House event announcing the availability of approximately $1.47 billion in competitive grant funds to help create clean school bus fleets and facilities across the country. Congressman Cárdenas helped secure this funding to replace old diesel buses with new, cleaner and zero-emission electric school buses through his bill with Senator Alex Padilla, the Clean Commute for Kids Act.

"Today, we are one step closer to ensuring all of our kids can ride to school with a commute that is safe and free of toxic air pollutants," said Congressman Cárdenas. "As a product of the public school system, as a parent and now grandparent, I know what it's like to see kids with asthma use inhalers on the way to school. It's simple: if we want fewer kids on inhalers, we need cleaner air. These grant funds I helped secure with Senator Padilla will help us take a step forward in our fight for environmental justice by replacing existing buses with better, cleaner buses."

On a typical day before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 25 million children were exposed to air pollution when they rode over 500,000 predominantly diesel buses to school in the U.S. each day. Nearly 95 percent of America's school buses run on diesel, a fossil fuel that has been shown to cause numerous health problems, including asthma, bronchitis and cancer.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) oversees approximately 1,303 school buses that transport 43,230 students daily. Currently, they have 11 operating electric buses and will purchase 30 additional electric school buses, pending Board approval tomorrow.

"Our friends at LAUSD are already leading the charge to reshape the way our kids get to school. I'm excited to see them apply for these grants to help them bring even more zero-emission school buses to the San Fernando Valley and all of Los Angeles. Together, we can continue to create healthier and cleaner communities for our kids, our families and our neighborhoods," continued Congressman Cárdenas.

Last week, Congressman Cárdenas invited LAUSD bus driver, Victor Garcia, as his virtual guest to the State of Union to highlight this funding.

The combined announcement is the first competitive grant opportunity under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funds will support good-paying jobs and help reduce carbon emissions, leading to cleaner air, healthier communities and better transportation. Manufacturing costs could also fall dramatically, making it more affordable for school districts to buy electric buses. Once those buses are operational, they'll be cheaper to maintain than diesel buses. After the upfront cost, an electric school bus could save schools about $2,000 in fuel costs and $4,400 in maintenance annually.

Instructions for applying can be found on FTA's website and in GRANTS.GOV (funding opportunity FTA 2022-001-TPM-LWNO for Low-No and FTA 2022-002-TPM-BUSC for Buses and Bus Facilities). Complete proposals must be submitted electronically through the GRANTS.GOV "APPLY" function by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 31, 2022.

Source