The SLO County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) AB923 School Bus Replacement and Retrofit Program is a grant program providing funds to purchase new buses to replace old, high-emitting public school buses, and to equip existing diesel school buses with retrofit devices that reduce toxic particulate matter (PM) emissions by at least 85%. The Program is funded with local fees collected by the DMV and administered by the APCD. The primary goal of the Program is to reduce the exposure of school children and the general public to both cancer-causing and smog-forming pollution. The program does not impose any regulatory requirements on school districts and their participation in the program is voluntary.
New school buses cost as much as $165,000 or more, while an emission retrofit device for an existing bus runs about $20,000. Because of this substantial cost savings and limited funds, the APCD school bus grant program focuses on the installation of retrofits whenever possible. Over the years, APCD has assisted in funding 47 new school buses for SLO county schools and in retrofitting 83.
Funds are currently available for public school bus grants – interested San Luis Obispo county school districts should complete the application found on the APCD web site: http://www.slocleanair.org/community/grants/schoolbus and return it to the APCD. The deadline to apply is August 31, 2017. Any questions regarding school bus grants can be directed to Vince Kirkhuff at [email protected] or 805-781-4247.