Buffalo schools will be next to benefit from federal money for electric buses

Buffalo City Schools will receive $8.62 million, Pine Valley Central will receive $2.76 million and Sweet Home Central will receive $1.6 million, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced Wednesday , DN.Y., in a press release.

He said the federal funding would benefit children and the entire community.

“Dirty bus exhaust is linked to asthma and many other negative health issues that affect our children, especially in cities like Buffalo, and this funding will help us ensure the health of our children and the environment in Western New York. ” Schumer said.

Funding for the rebate is the second part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program, part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law provided $5 billion over five years to replace existing school buses with low- or zero-emission buses.

Nearly 530 school districts nationwide will receive more than $900 million to replace diesel buses that are linked to respiratory and other problems.

Buffalo Superintendent Tonja M. Williams said the funding will allow the district’s contractor, First Student, to purchase 25 low-emission school buses.

The funding “will contribute greatly to Buffalo Public Schools’ goal of making all of our transportation electric,” Williams said in the news release.

Lake Shore Central and Barker Central have received similar funding over the past two years.

New York State has set 2027 as the date by which all new school buses purchased must be zero-emission, and all school buses in operation must be zero-emission by 2035.