President Joe Biden may have cut a daring figure behind the wheel of his 1967 Corvette Sting Ray, but he more likely had buses on the brain while taking part in an online tour of an electric bus and battery plant on Tuesday. The President's factory tour was designed to demonstrate the seriousness of his plans to bolster the production of green-powered public transit as part of his massive infrastructure bill announced earlier in April.
U.S. Lagging Behind China In EV Bus Production
From his confines in the White House, Biden was guided through the Proterra plant in Greenville, South Carolina, where he was given a remote's eye-view of the buses in production as well as details on how these models would provide zero-emissions once they make it onto America's roads.
Biden was particularly interested in how the buses were assembled and tested and appeared to be impressed with the responses. He also credited Proterra for its part in getting future fleets off fossil fuels.
"We have a lot of catching up to do, but we're going to be in a position where we've got to own the future here," said Biden. "We out to be the single most significant suppliers of electric buses and vehicles in the world before it's over. Right now, we're running way behind China, but guys are getting us in the game. It's going to make a lot of difference."
$20 Billion Earmarked To Convert School Buses
Getting into the game means surpassing China, which currently rules the electric bus market. Biden's infrastructure proposal worth $2 trillion includes allocating $20 billion towards converting 20 percent of U.S. school buses to run on electric power. An additional $25 billion will be dedicated to a similar conversion of public transit vehicles. It's all part of a $174 billion EV package that includes providing $100 billion in rebates to entice customers to purchase an electric vehicle.
All U.S. Buses Could Be Green By 2030
But the notion of curbing climate change and competing against an adversarial nation wasn't all on the President's mind. He also hoped the initiative would provide health benefits to youngsters who would no longer be subject to the dangers of diesel. "It's just going to physically change the health of our kids in those yellow school buses going back and forth to school."
While Biden hopes that all U.S.-made buses would reach zero-emission status by 2030, Proterra estimates that half of those buses will be green by 2025.
Source: Automotive News, Now This News