14 New Jersey School Districts May Soon Debut Electric Buses

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced more money in grants going towards electric vehicles. Specifically, $32 million is going towards dozens of electric school buses and EV charging stations. It’s all part of the state’s transition to zero-emission school buses that will better protect the health of schoolchildren and improve public access to charging stations in Jersey communities. Read on to learn about electric school buses in New Jersey’s public schools.

Electric School Buses

The DEP reports it awarded over $18 million in grants in the second round of funding of the Electric School Bus Grant program. These grants have been distributed among school districts all over New Jersey. This was authorized by the former Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, back in 2022. The legislation provided up to $45 million in funding over three years to replace diesel school buses with electric buses and install charging stations. It’s funded by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ (NJBPU) Clean Energy Fund.

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The grants allow for the local purchase of 53 electric school buses and 41 associated fast chargers. The New Jersey Fleet Advisor will be available to help grant recipients navigate transitioning to electric vehicles. The office plans to develop a personalized “Fleet Electrification Roadmap” to provide vehicle recommendations, cost projections, on-site infrastructure assessments, financial information, and zero-emission basics.  

Here’s a breakdown of the school districts receiving grants across the state. 

Bergen County

• South Hackensack School District: up to $600,000 for two school buses

Camden County

• Camden City School District: up to $2.04 million for six school buses and three fast-charging stations

Essex County

• East Orange School District: up to $1.71 million for five school buses and three fast-charging stations

Mercer County

• West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District: up to $2.1 million for six school buses and six fast-charging stations through its contractor, Highland Electric Fleets

Middlesex County

• Plainfield Public Schools: up to $2.1 million for six school buses and six fast-charging stations

Monmouth County

• Middletown Township School District: up to $640,000 for two school buses and two fast-charging stations through its contractor, Highland Electric Fleets
• Shore Regional High School District: up to $1.28 million for four school buses and four fast-charging stations through its contractor, Highland Electric Fleets

Passaic County

• Milkyway Education Center Inc./Pioneer Academy: up to $640,000 for two school buses and two level 2 charging stations
• Passaic County Technical Vocational Schools: up to $680,000 for two school buses and one fast-charging station

Somerset County

• Bernards Township Board of Education: up to $604,000 for two school buses and one level 2 charging station
• Franklin Township School District: up to $2 million for six school buses and six level 2 charging stations through its contractor, Mercy Transportation, Inc.
• Montgomery Township School District: up to $2.04 million for six school buses and three fast-charging stations

Union County

• Summit Board of Education: up to $700,000 for two school buses and two fast-charging stations
• Union School District: up to $700,000 for two school buses and two fast-charging stations through its contractor, Mosdos Pupa Linden

“The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey,” said Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette in a statement. “These grant programs are advancing New Jersey’s long-term electric-vehicle emission reduction goals by replacing diesel school buses that emit harmful pollutants with clean electric buses and by expanding public and private charging infrastructure in our communities.”

“We applaud the NJDEP for forging ahead with funding electric school buses,” said Anjuli Ramos, Director of the NJ Sierra Club, in a statement. “The 53 buses funded in year two will nearly double the state’s current zero-emission fleet. Most will serve overburdened districts, helping to reduce diesel pollution linked to high asthma rates among children.”

Previously, the DEP announced the first-round award of $15 million in grants for local purchases of 48 electric school buses in New Jersey back in 2024.

Charging Stations 

With more electric vehicles comes more need for charging stations. The DEP awarded $13.6 million through the EV Charging Grant Program for 26 public and private projects to install publicly accessible charging stations. These stations are planned to make charging vehicles more convenient by locating charging stations near towns and retail centers, multi-unit housing, and transit hubs across the state. The goal is to improve convenience and reduce charging times, and enhance the electric vehicle owner experience.

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15 private and governmental entities are to receive funding, and some grant recipients will be awarded for several projects, according to the DEP. The plan is to install 82 charging stations with 136 fast-charging ports in 16 counties. Each grant is for $400,000 or $600,000, depending on the number of charging ports to be installed. The DEP says these chargers will be built upon New Jersey’s existing network of over 5,000 electric vehicle charging ports. 

Here’s a breakdown of the entities receiving funding. 

Private Entity Grant Awardees:

• Chargeflex LLC (3 awards)
• DVM Industries (5 awards)
• EV Edison (4 awards)
• Universal Electric Vehicle LLC (3 awards)
• BE Controls Inc.
• Blink Network, LLC
• EV-Zoom Inc.
• Gill Petroleum Inc.
• Retrofit Install Inc.
• Richard E. Ritchie Enterprises Inc.
• Xura Eatontown Energy Corporation

Local Government Grant Awardees:

• City of Passaic, Passaic County
• City of Sea Isle City, Cape May County
• Township of Ewing, Mercer County
• Mercer County

The grant program is funded by RGGI auction proceeds and the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust and is part of the It Pay$ to Plug In campaign. Since it began, the It Pay$ to Plug In grant program has awarded nearly $19 million for over 1,700 charging stations throughout New Jersey.