California, New York and Illinois are the top three states for total electric school buses, according to a new analysis released by US PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center.

The three states also lead the nation in combined federal and state investments into electric bus fleets. With nearly a half million school buses shuttling kids back and forth across the United States this fall, electric school buses have zero tailpipe emissions and therefore offer a cleaner, healthier alternative to traditional diesel buses.

According to the World Resources Institute, the United States now has 12,000 electric school buses, either in operation or coming soon, in more than 1,500 school districts. Beyond California, New York and Illinois, other top states include Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia and Georgia.

Unprecedented federal and state funding is driving the conversion to electric school buses across the country. In addition to California, New York and Illinois, which are the top three states for total federal and state funding for electric school buses, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts round out the top ten.

US PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center encourage school districts to aggressively pursue electric vehicle funding to accelerate their conversion to a 100% electric school bus fleet. The groups also call on states, local governments and utilities to increase funding and reduce barriers to these electric school buses.