HVIP Public School Bus Set-Aside
Primary Contact
Categories
About
Current Incentive Amount(s)
Voucher amounts in the Public School Bus Set-Aside intend to cover nearly, if not all, the full cost of a new zero-emission school bus and are shown below.
School Bus Type | Without a wheelchair lift | With a wheelchair lift |
---|---|---|
Type A | $285,000 | $310,000 |
Type C | $350,000 | $375,000 |
Type D | $370,000 | $395,000 |
Who is Eligible
The HVIP Public School Bus Set-Aside eligible applicants include: public school districts, public charter schools, joint power authorities, county offices of education, and division of state special schools of the California Department of Education. All eligible applicants must be located in a small or medium-sized air district. View the list of small and medium-sized air districts in the Implementation Manual.
CARB will prioritize applications from eligible applicants that serve disadvantaged and low-income communities and are located in small air districts.
How it’s Administered
The Public School Bus Set-Aside funds are administered through a dedicated funding source in HVIP. HVIP funds are distributed via a third-party contractor who administers the voucher program. Complementary infrastructure funding is administered through CEC’s EnergIIZE program and is designed to assist public school districts awarded through HVIP Public School Bus Set-Aside fund the charging/fueling infrastructure necessary for the operation of the ZE school buses. To be eligible for EnergIIZE public school bus set-aside funding, an applicant must be awarded through HVIP’s public school bus set-aside. Additional requirements can be found on the EnergIIZE resources webpage.
Where and When it’s Offered
The first-year application period opened March 2022 and ended June 2022. The FY 2022-23 application period opened June 20, 2023 and will close September 29, 2023.
Funding will continue to be available to support school bus replacements in future years. CARB has also been appropriated $375 million to support grants to local educational agencies to replace internal combustion school buses with new zero-emission school buses or other clean technology. An additional $125 million was appropriated to CEC to provide complementary grants for charging/fueling infrastructure. The funds will be awarded starting in FY 2023-24.
To check how much funding remains or sign up to be notified when funding is released, visit the HVIP funding updates page.
Project Funding or Participation Requirements
CARB sets requirements that participating school districts must adhere to in the HVIP Implementation Manual Appendix G. Key requirements include:
- Applicants must own the school bus that is being used to apply for funding
- Replaced school bus must be scrapped within 12-months of receipt of the new ZE school bus
- Replaced school buses must be MY 2010 or older
Announcements and Upcoming Activities
- Funding Available Now: The FY 2022-23 allocation of $135 million opened to applications on June 20, 2023 and will close September 29, 2023.
- Statewide ZE School Bus Procurement Contract: To support future school bus funding opportunities, the Department of General Services, in coordination with CARB and the California Workforce Development Board are developing a statewide procurement contract with manufacturers of zero-emission school buses. This contract is expected to help local educational agencies secure competitive pricing, and will also include requirements to support the development of high quality jobs. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for Statewide contract for the California school districts of ZE school buses accepted proposals through August 1, 2023. Once in place, local educational agencies will be able to purchase zero-emission school buses through the procurement contract. Eligibility to utilize the statewide procurement contracts is not limited to those agencies participating in CARB incentive programs.
- Future Funding Availability:CARB and CEC were appropriated $375 million and $125 million respectively from SB 114 for Local Educational Agency School Bus Replacement Grants which will be made available in 2024. The legislature indicated that it intends to also provide $375 million to CARB and $125 million to CEC for FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26, totaling $1.5 billion. Prior to the opening of the program, staff will hold public meetings to develop program policies and guidelines.
Project Resources
More information can be found at californiahvip.org.