Zum & Biden/Harris Administration Commit to Sustainable School Transportation
Today the Biden-Harris Administration took their commitment to sustainable school transportation one step further.
As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program, 389 school districts were awarded nearly $1 billion in funding to purchase over 2,400 clean school buses that will “accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities.”
We were excited to be on the ground in Seattle with Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Commissioner Michael Regan as they share this year’s recipients and underscore their commitment to ensuring our largest mass transit system in the U.S. — our school buses — will help us create a healthier future for our children.
This news is particularly exciting to Zum. Our mission is to provide schools with the tools, technologies and resources they need — including electric school buses— to create a modern student transportation system that positively impacts our communities and our environment.
We have been working diligently toward driving an industry-wide shift to transition the nation’s 500,000 school buses from diesel to electric, leading the industry toward a zero emission future. Zum’s fleet is 100% carbon neutral today, and we are committed to transitioning 100% of our bus fleet to electric by the end of 2025, through Zum’s Net Zero initiative, with our first set of electric buses already deployed in the Bay Area. To take this commitment a step further, we are announcing today that we will begin to transition our student transportation fleet in Seattle to electric before the end of 2022.
We look forward to continued collaboration with school districts, communities, as well as local and federal government to put electric school buses on the road. We also are excited to share our progress along the way.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaking about the significant role electric school buses will play in children’s futures and the importance of investing in them.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan: “This is just the beginning of our work to build a healthier future, reduce climate pollution, and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve.”
Zum attends the event in Seattle, from left to right: Sarah Skinner, VP Strategic Partnerships; Paul Ahn, Seattle General Manager; Victoria Plummer, Regional Director of Operations Pacific Northwest; Jeffrey Folkert, Seattle School Bus Driver & Trainer; Teresita Centeno, Seattle School Bus Driver & Trainer.
Read our CEO’s statement:
Follow today’s funding announcement:
Learn more about the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program: