Dataset of U.S. School Bus Fleets

This dataset contains detailed information on the composition of school bus fleets in the United States. The dataset contains data from 46 states and the District of Columbia, with information including the school district that the school bus serves, its model year, fuel type, manufacturer, seating capacity and ownership model. WRI researchers compiled the dataset by submitting records requests to state governments between March and November 2022.

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Description

This dataset contains detailed information on the composition of school bus fleets in the United States. It dataset contains data from 46 states and the District of Columbia, though the specific data available vary by state. For most states, the dataset includes bus-level information, such as the school district that the school bus serves, its model year, fuel type, bus type, manufacturer and seating capacity.

WRI researchers compiled the dataset by submitting records requests to state governments between March and November 2022. They then harmonized and combined those state-level datasets to enable multistate analysis. The methods and sources for the dataset are described in the technical note.

This dataset can serve a range of environmental and equity use cases, including estimating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions or benefits to public health resulting from the electrification of all U.S. school buses, planning for electricity grid upgrades related to electric transportation, and identifying school districts with the oldest and probably most polluting school buses.

Cautions

There are two major limitations of this dataset. The first is missing data from four states (Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Hampshire) and all the U.S. territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa). The second limitation results from methodological and structural differences between states’ original datasets. Please see the “Limitations” section of the technical note for additional information.

Citation

Lazer, L., L. Freehafer and J. Wang. February 2023. “Dataset of U.S. School Bus Fleets.” Version 2. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. https://datasets.wri.org/dataset/school_bus_fleets

Access & Use Information

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Full license text available at Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

Metadata

Project: Electric School Bus Initiative

Page Last Updated: February 8, 2024

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