Diesel school buses emit harmful quantities of nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. These toxic exposures can pose health risks, exacerbating chronic asthma and other respiratory ailments. In children, diesel exhaust leads to more pronounced health effects and also negatively impacts academic performance. Asthma is strongly correlated with absenteeism, with one study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine finding that asthma-related school absenteeism affects 59% of children with asthma, and is disproportionately detrimental to urban minority youth.

Other studies indicate that by eliminating the health impacts of diesel exhaust, annual absences across the country could be reduced by as many as 14 million per year.

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The economic benefits of operating an electric school bus fleet include a lower total cost of ownership due to lower maintenance and fuel costs, which can yield savings of $5,000 to $10,000 per school bus per year. Unlike fossil fuel models, electric school buses do not require engine oil and air filter changes, nor smog testing and transmission maintenance. There are also many state and grant programs that help subsidize electric school bus purchases.

Additionally, multiple forms of ownership (vehicle lease, battery lease, Mobility-as-a-Service provider) allow for districts to select the financing mechanism that best supports their budgeting needs.

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Finally, electric school buses outfitted with Vehicle-to-Grid capabilities can unlock additional sources of revenue for the school district, by storing power in their batteries and selling it back to the grid during times of peak energy use. 

Diesel exhaust contains high levels of CO2; per a recent white paper from CALSTART, each diesel school bus is expected to emit 90 tons of CO2 over a 12-year lifespan, equivalent to 23 average ICE passenger vehicles over a similar period of time. With zero tailpipe emissions, a fully electric national school bus fleet could mitigate as many as 5.3 million tons of atmospheric greenhouse gas every year.