Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As New York State begins the process of funding zero emission school buses, one State Senator has concerns about whether there will be enough money to provide enough buses to the state's 700 school districts.
Gov. Hochul announced on Wednesday $100 million was available for zero-emission school buses under the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022.
"New York State is empowering school districts to embrace zero-emission school buses which will provide our leaders of tomorrow with healthy and clean transportation today," said Gov. Hochul. "Ensuring electric school buses are at the forefront of student transport is a critical health investment and demonstrates the benefits of clean energy while reducing harmful emissions to improve air quality and protect our precious environment."
The state will provide incentives to eligible school bus fleet operators that purchase zero-emission battery electric vehicles (BEV) or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). This funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis with incentive amounts starting at $114,000 and covering up to 100 percent of the incremental cost of a new or repowered zero-emission school bus, depending on the type of vehicle.
State Sen. Patrick Gallivan says that $100 million won't be enough to cover the entire state.
"If you consider that there's over 700 school districts in the state, a new electric school bus costs $400,000, at a minimum, this would allow for maybe a total of 250 buses, overall, not even one per district," noted Gallivan.
He says ultimately, taxpayers will bear the burden for the rest of the bill. He says taxpayers are already stretched.
"They don't have the money to continue to come up with additional billions of dollars of government spending. So I think this is very problematic," Gallivan added.
Gallivan believes there are other challenges at hand.
"First, availability, or manufacturers being able to provide enough for all the school districts in the state. Second, our grid, certainly in its current form, cannot provide the infrastructure to support this," Gallivan said.
He adds there is a more responsible way for the state to achieve its goals.
"The plan that New York State is following right now essentially, is putting all our eggs in one basket, so to speak, to electrification," Gallivan said.
Gallivan has spoken with utility companies who prefer a diversified approach.
"We also know that natural gas is much cheaper, much more inexpensive, and has come a long way and in providing much cleaner energy than it did in the past," Gallivan noted.
New York wants to have zero emission buses by 2035 in all districts.