In addition to the state’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), California has also awarded school districts $500 million to purchase zero-emission school buses and chargers.
The Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) project selected 133 educational agencies to receive 1,000 zero-emission school buses and related charging infrastructure to school districts and other local educational entities. Statewide grants are expected to be finalized by the end of the year.
ZESBI is a program in collaboration between the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC), and is administered by CALSTART, a nonprofit clean transportation organization.
“Cleaning up the state’s school bus fleet is central to California’s efforts to provide clean transportation in priority communities that are disproportionately hurt by air pollution,” stated CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “The vast majority of these grants will go to local educational agencies that serve these communities.”
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Meanwhile, HVIP is surging with voucher redemptions skyrocking by 177 percent from 2023 to 2024, with early 2025 data showing continued momentum. A press release states that in February alone, more than 200 HVIP-funded, zero-emission trucks and buses were deployed with $31 million in incentives.
“Over 15 years, HVIP invested $754 million, helping 2,000 fleets deploy 10,000 clean trucks and buses,” the release states, adding that the vehicles have logged more than 340 million miles.
The sale of new zero-emission trucks, buses and vans doubled in 2023, over the previous year, “representing one out of every six new vehicles sold for services including last-mile delivery, freight transportation, and school buses,” the release adds.
Several funding categories within HVIP have reached capacity, though funding remains through the transit set-aside and Innovative Small e-Fleets (ISEF) project. HVIP is also administered by CALSTART on behalf of the California Air Resources Board.
