Statement: Assembly Transportation Committee Advances Bill to Help Fund Transition to Electric School Buses

Trenton – Today the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee passed A1626/S228 which will require the EDA to establish a loan program to help school districts and school bus contractors transition from diesel to electric school bus fleets. There are currently zero electric school buses operating in New Jersey, with 32 on the way, purchased with grants from the NJDEP from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Volkswagen Settlement dollars. The bill passed unanimously through committee, and will now head to the full Assembly for a vote.

Hayley Berliner, Clean Energy Associate with Environment New Jersey issued the following statement: 

“We need to ensure that this is the last generation of kids that ride dirty diesel school buses that harm human health and pollute our environment. The passage of this bill, along with the passage of the companion electric school bus bill sponsored by Senator Diegnan to provide direct funding for the purchase of electric school buses and charging infrastructure, is a great step towards electrifying everything on wheels in New Jersey.

“We’d like to thank Assemblymembers Lampitt, McKeon, and Mukherji for their leadership on this bill. We look forward to swift passage through the Assembly.”