$78 Million Awarded to Replace 286 Polluting School Buses with Cleaner Models

Students in 35 School Districts Will Breathe Cleaner Air

DIAMOND BAR, Calif., Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Governing Board approved up to $78.2 million to replace 286 older, high-polluting school buses with new zero-emission models and to install supporting charging infrastructure across the region.

The project will benefit 35 public school districts throughout the South Coast Air Basin. Of the new zero-emission buses:

• 124 will operate in Los Angeles County
• 50 in Orange County
• 60 in Riverside County
• 52 in San Bernardino County

The full list of school districts can be found here.

The new buses are expected to reduce harmful emissions by about 46.3 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 3.5 tons of particulate matter each year, significantly improving air quality, particularly for students.

More than 87 percent of the new buses will serve overburdened communities, ensuring that cleaner air reaches those who need it most. Delivery and deployment of the new buses are expected to begin in mid-2026, following vehicle procurement and infrastructure installation.

Funding for this initiative comes from multiple clean air programs, including the Carl Moyer Program, CARE4Kids Program and other state and local funding sources. This funding approach leverages state, federal, and local resources to accelerate the transition to zero-emission transportation across Southern California.

Since launching the Lower-Emission School Bus Program in 2001, South Coast AQMD has awarded nearly $372 million to help school districts replace or retrofit diesel school buses. To date, the program has replaced more than 1,900 diesel school buses with alternative-fuel or zero-emission models and retrofitted 3,400 buses with particulate matter traps—ensuring that students across the region travel on some of the cleanest school buses in the nation.

South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. For news, air quality alerts, event updates and more, please visit us at www.aqmd.gov, download our award-winning app, or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.

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SOURCE SOUTH COAST AQMD