Clean School Bus Program will reduce emissions

Thank you, Sen. Jon Tester, for helping secure funds to purchase 41 clean school buses for Montana’s rural public schools. These include: 11 for Florence-Carlton; 10 for Hamilton; 8 for Thompson Falls; 6 for Plains: 3 to Trout Creek; 2 for St. Regis District and 1 bus for Dixon.

The grant money, nearly $4 million, comes from the Clean School Bus Program, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Tester worked with five Republicans and four Democrats to negotiate the bill and was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to vote for the bill.

In June, 2023, the American Lung Association published Driving to Clean Air, highlighting that a transition to zero emission vehicles would save tens of thousands of American lives and billions of dollars in public health benefits over the next two decades. 

Air pollution from older diesel bus engines is linked to asthma and other conditions that harm students’ health and causes missed school days.
According to the EPA, transportation accounts for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. 

 The Clean School Bus Program will reduce emissions, save money for districts, and produce cleaner air. These low or no emission buses ensure healthier air for students, bus drivers, school staff working near bus loading areas, and the communities through which the buses drive each day.

— Hillery Daily, Darby