2025美国学区校车电气化转型的公平性需求评估报告

Needs assessment for equitable school buselectrification in US school districts Charles T. Brown and Eleanor Jackson Executive summary CONTENTS Highlights▪ Executive summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Methodology and respondentcharacteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Measuring awareness of and interestin ESB funding programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Motivating factors and perceived benefitsfor pursuing school bus electrification. . . . . .9Incorporation of equity principles . . . . . . . . . . .11Understanding barriers to schoolbus electrification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42About the authors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 School districts have an unprecedented opportunity to invest in cleanrides for students by transitioning to electric school buses (ESBs);however, this transition will not look the same for every district.▪ The research team investigated motivators for and barriers to ESBadoption for priority districts and non-priority districts—defined on thebasis of districts’ racial diversity, percentage of low-income students, Tribalstatus, and exposure to pollutants—in various geographies and locations(Worker and Coursar 2023).▪ District geography (i.e., census region) and locale (e.g., urban or rural)appeared to have a greater impact on districts’ needs than their prioritystatus, so regional- or locale-based working groups may provide moreeffective technical assistance.▪ Respondents to our survey saw better health for children and bus drivers,reduced operating expenses, and cleaner air as the main benefits of ESBs.▪ Districts with ESBs were motivated by the availability of funding, airquality benefits, climate benefits, exposure to districts with ESBs, andinterest in testing a new technology.▪ Districts were concerned about cost, infrastructure, technologicalreadiness, maintenance, and route length.▪ Working Papers contain preliminary research, analysis,findings, and recommendations. They are circulated tostimulate timely discussion and critical feedback, andto influence ongoing debate on emerging issues. Most districts did not consider equity during the electrification process.The ones that did focused on deploying buses in underserved areas andprioritizing students with disabilities. Suggested Citation:Brown, C.T., and E. Jackson.2025. “Needs assessment for equitable school buselectrification in US school districts” WorkingPaper. Washington, DC: World ResourcesInstitute. Available online at doi.org/10.46830/wriwp.20.00111. This 2023 update pulls from a broader set of districts to examinethe benefits of and barriers to school bus electrification one yearinto the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) CleanSchool Bus Program (CSBP) (see Box ES-2). It reexamines theneeds of priority districts compared with those of other districtsand expands the scope to compare needs across differentgeographies and locales. Background World Resources Institute’s (WRI’s) Electric School Bus(ESB) Initiative aims to promote equitable electrificationof the US school bus fleet. Its approach is centered aroundequity—the guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, andadvancement while striving to identify and eliminate barriersthat have prevented the full participation of some groups andacknowledging that there are historically underserved andunderrepresented populations—and intersectionality—ananalytical framework for understanding how aspects of aperson’s social and political identities combine to create differentmodes of discrimination and privilege (Moses and Brown 2022). Box ES-2 |Overview of federal funding for electricschool buses This paper features two key federal policies that impact electricschool buses: This paper updates and expands on the 2022 “NeedsAssessment for Equitable School Bus Electrification in U.S.School Districts” (Brown and Jackson 2023), which providedpreliminary recommendations regarding technical assistancefor the ESB Initiative’s “priority outreach districts” (or “prioritydistricts”) (see Box ES-1). The ESB Initiative prioritizes themin providing technical assistance and policy recommendationsto remediate systemic inequalities that exist within the USeducation system. The EPA’s Clean School Bus Program:As part of the BipartisanInfrastructure Law, the CSBP provides $5 billion over five years(fiscal years 2022–26) to replace existing scho