Chicago Gets $20 Million for Green Bus Programme

Transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles is part of the city’s commitment to the health and well-being of children and families and improving air quality

The city of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced that the district has won a $20 million grant to fund 50 low- and zero-emission buses as part of the US Environmental Protection (EPA) new Clean School Bus Programme Grants Competition. The CPS grant is among $1 billion distributed among 67 awardees under the programme, which is made possible through President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

Improving Air Quality

The transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles is part of the city’s commitment to the health and well-being of children and their families and improving air quality in Chicago. “I am grateful to receive this important investment from the EPA that will expand transportation options for CPS students while making Chicago a more sustainable city,” said Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson. “By serving the communities that need these buses the most, we begin to reverse historic disinvestment in our South and West Side neighbourhoods and empower the students who live there. My administration continues to be committed to environmental justice to improve our city’s air quality, create green jobs, and to fulfill our citywide climate goal of drastically reducing our carbon emissions 62% by the year 2040.”

CPS worked closely with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to ensure the new buses will serve students and communities located on the city’s south and west side neighbourhoods that are most impacted by poor environmental policies and practices. As a result of the electric buses addition, the district anticipates the following outcomes:

• A decrease in the amount of local carbon emissions experience by students and community members from diesel buses and other forms of hired transportation along bus routes
• An increase in student mobility to travel to school activities
• Work-based learning, workforce training, and professional development opportunities
• Fuel and maintenance cost savings

“This announcement is a win for students, their families and the environment born out of the collaboration between the Chicago Teacher’s Union, City Hall, community members and CPS,” said union president Stacy Davis Gates. “When we come together for our students and their classrooms, there is nothing we cannot achieve and this award decision speaks to that collaborative power and the role it can play in increasing the well-being of our students.”

CPS does not operate its own school bus fleet but contracts with a variety of transportation companies and has, in recent years, experienced the impact of the national bus driver shortage. In addition to raising driver wages, recruitment and hiring incentives, and adding more transportation companies, the city and district pursued this grant as another way of addressing student transportation challenges while also celebrating a move toward clean energy.

The district will continue to work with the EPA to meet the requirements of this grant award. Procurement and implementation of the new buses will commence over a three-year award period, beginning April 1, 2024.