Electric School Bus Grant Program

Electric School Bus Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Amount: Up to US $350,000
Last Updated: August 22, 2025

Summary

The Electric School Bus Grant Program in New Jersey aims to transition the state's school bus fleets to electric, addressing the health impacts of fossil fuel-powered buses. With a funding limit of $15 million annually for three years, the program supports individual school districts and contractors in acquiring electric buses and charging infrastructure. Eligible applicants include school districts and bus contractors, with a focus on those serving Overburdened Communities. The program also offers reimbursement options for upfront costs of new buses and chargers.

Overview

Electric School Bus Grant Program Purpose of Funding New Jersey is invested in exploring the betterment of school bus fleets throughout the state by implementing a program designed to encourage and monitor the transition to electric school buses. Of the 21,700 school buses registered in New Jersey, over 99% run on fossil fuels. While providing vital transportation services, these buses negatively impact the health of students and residents of the communities in which they operate. Grant Limitations $15,000,000 per year for three years. Approximately half of the Round 2 funding will be available for this solicitation for electric school buses and chargers for individual school districts and school bus contractors. The other half is dedicated to Eco-hub projects which will pilot vehicle-to-building technology. The Eco-hub project is being managed separately from this solicitation and the participating school districts were selected through a previous solicitation. How much will grantees need to pay out of pocket? The out of pocket costs will depend on the quotes you receive from your vendor, as the grantee will cover the difference between the total bus cost and the grant amount. The grant amount covers the approximate incremental cost between a new electric and a new diesel school bus. This program is a reimbursement program, so the grantee will pay the bus cost upfront and will receive the grant amount once the grant agreement is executed. The grant also covers up to $4,000 for a Level 2 charging station and up to $20,000 for a fast charging station. All other costs are the responsibility of the grantee. Is this a reimbursement program? Yes, this is a reimbursement program, but there are advance payment options available. Advance payment of up to 90% of the grant amount can be requested early in the process. Generally, the advance payment will be issued about 2 weeks from when the grant agreement has been executed and a purchase order has been placed. The final 10% will be reimbursed upon bus delivery, submittal of receipts and canceled checks and/or bank statements showing that at least the full amount of the grant has been expended, and decommissioning of old diesel buses has occurred and documentation has been submitted, if applicable.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Under this solicitation, two types of entities are eligible to apply: School districts Schools and school districts who operate school bus services are eligible to apply directly.School Bus ContractorsSchool bus contractors must apply in conjunction with a specified school or school district.A single school bus contractor may apply in conjunction with multiple schools or school districts, although they must submit a separate application for each individual school or school district they are applying with.A school bus contractor must be an entity that owns the buses and operates them in a specific school district that they partner with in order to apply.One contractor can submit multiple applications with multiple schools/districts. They can only request up to 16 buses per application.Applicants do not have to own buses to be eligible for this program.Non-public schools eligible for this program.Non-profit organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs are eligible as long as they provide transportation services to a K-12 school. Qualifications Required for ConsiderationIn each year of funding, at least half of the school districts or school bus contractors selected by the department must operate within an Overburdened Community. Additionally, the department aims to select an equal number of grantees from the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, respectively.​Northern (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Union, Sussex, and Warren Counties)​Central (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset Counties)​Southern (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, and Salem Counties)Applicants can apply for up to one charging station per bus.This grant will only cover Type C/D buses. However, once selected, the Fleet Advisor program will look at your whole fleet, not just the buses covered by this grant.The charging stations are not required to meet BABA standards, but Level 2 charging stations are required to be Energy Star Certified.

Ineligibility

V2G projects are not eligible for funding. If a district only needs charging infrastructure, they can apply to NJ BPU's Clean Fleet Program.Those interested in Type A/B buses can apply through the Diesel Modernization Program.