Texas Commission on Environmental Quality expands Clean School Bus Program

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will provide $6.2 million in funding under its expanded Clean School Bus Program, which will now provide grants to public and charter schools, as well as school transportation companies statewide that are seeking to replace diesel buses.

The funds will allow schools to install exhaust retrofits as well as replace older diesel school buses with new school buses, including propane-powered models. School districts can replace a pre-2007 school bus with a propane school bus and get between $36,500 and $52,500, dependent on passenger capacity, says the Propane Council of Texas. Funding is first come, first serve and is limited to five school buses per district.

According to the Propane Council of Texas, older diesel buses produce higher amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOx), which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to smog, ground-level ozone and is associated with adverse health effects.

“Texas is home to over 26,000 pre-2007 school buses,” says Bill Van Hoy, executive director of the Propane Council of Texas. “If school districts would replace all of the pre-2007 school buses, Texas could reduce NOx by 7.5 million pounds a year.”