Lower Emission School Bus Program

Mobile source emissions are major contributors to the potential cancer risk from air pollution.  Long-term epidemiological studies of school age children conducted by University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles indicate that nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter have much greater impacts on limiting lung growth in children than believed in the past.  These include exhaust emissions from high emitting diesel-fueled school buses that contain smog forming pollutants and air toxics harmful to school children. As a result, AQMD adopted Rule 1195 – Clean On-Road School Buses. This Rule requires public schools and private operators with more than 15 or more school buses to purchase or lease cleaner school buses that better protect school age children.

AQMD has also adopted a Lower Emission School Bus Incentive Program. There are thousands of older school buses on the road that have remained in service primarily because school districts lack funds to replace them.  Using state, federal and its own matching funds, AQMD has provided substantial incentives to public school districts to purchase new very clean CNG buses and low-emitting diesel buses.  In turn, these districts have to retire equivalent number of the oldest, highest-polluting buses in their fleets:  first, pre-1977 buses and then pre-1987 buses.  AQMD has provided further incentives to both school districts and private operators to install particulate trap filters that eliminate 85 percent or more of particulates in diesel exhaust.  School buses, eligible for particulate traps, are 1994 and newer diesel buses that must use low sulfur diesel fuel, with 15 ppm or lower sulfur content.

Table 1: School Bus Awards (Total Expenditures as of May, 2010)

Funding Criteria
Click on Funding Criteria to see the environmental justice considerations that must be met by the school bus program.

AQMD School Bus Awards and Program Announcements

For additional information about this program, see Staff Contacts.