Support electric school buses in Maryland

What's At Stake

Maryland continues to prioritize a cleaner, healthier environment for its communities and families by pushing for an all-electric future. Right now, the Maryland Public Service Commission is reviewing an electric school bus pilot program submitted by Potomac Edison (PE). The pilot is a critical step towards sustainable public transportation in Maryland, in line with the state’s Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022.

The Maryland Public Service Commission must ensure the pilot is equitable, has enough funding, and passes it in time for the next school year. Electric school buses produce zero tailpipe emissions, eliminating harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that threaten children’s health. This transition is especially crucial for low-income and minority communities that often bear the brunt of pollution and live near bus depots.

By switching to electric buses, we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, directly contributing to Maryland’s climate goals and a sustainable future for all.

Electric buses aren’t just environmentally friendly — they’re cost-effective. They have lower fuel, operating, and maintenance costs than diesel buses, leading to long-term savings for our school districts. The pilot also includes financial incentives to cover the incremental cost difference, making the switch even more affordable.

Potomac Edison’s pilot provides up to 100% coverage for the infrastructure needed to charge these buses, ensuring that our school systems have all the resources necessary for a smooth transition. PE will also offer technical and administrative support to help schools navigate this new technology.

The Maryland Public Service Commission needs to hear from you. Submit a public comment before the September 27 deadline to express your support for Potomac Edison’s Electric School Bus Pilot. Together, we can drive forward a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for our children and communities.

A new, yellow school bus in a parking lot.
An electric school bus on display during an event at the Electrical Training Institute in Commerce, California. (Hannah Benet for Earthjustice)

1 Day Remains

Delivery to Maryland Public Service Commission

Important Notice

Your message is delivered to a public agency, and all information submitted may be placed in the public record. Do not submit confidential information.

By taking action, you will receive emails from Earthjustice. Change your mailing preferences or opt-out at any time. Learn more in our Privacy Policy. This Earthjustice action is hosted on EveryAction. Learn about EveryAction’s Privacy Policy.

Why is a phone number or prefix required on some action forms?

Trouble Viewing This Action?

If the action form is not loading above, please add earthjustice.org as a trusted website in your ad blocker or pause any ad blockers, and refresh this webpage. (Details.) If the action form still does not display, please report the problem to us at action@earthjustice.org. Thank you!

Your Actions Matter

Your messages make a difference, even if we have leaders who don't want to listen. Here's why.

You level the playing field.

Elected officials pay attention when they see that we are paying attention. Read more.

They may be hearing from industry lobbyists left and right, but hearing the stories of their constituents — that’s your power.

Our legislators serve at the pleasure of the people who gave them their job — you.

Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. When you contact your elected official, you’re putting a face and a name on an issue.

Whether or not you voted for them, they work for you, for the duration of their term.

Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. (Find your local, state, and federal elected officials.)

Your action is with us in court.

If a federal agency finalizes a harmful action, the record of public comments provides a basis for bringing them into court. Read more.

Throughout each of the public comment periods we alert you to, Earthjustice’s attorneys are researching and writing in-depth, technical comments to submit — detailing how the regulation could and should be stronger to protect the environment, our communities, and our planet.

We need you to join us — your specific experiences, knowledge, and voice are crucial to add to the Administrative Record through the comment periods.

Lawsuits we file that challenge weak or harmful federal regulations rely on what was submitted during the comment period. The court can only look at documents that are in the Administrative Record — including the public comments — to decide if the agency did something improper.

Your actions aid our litigation. Taking action and submitting comments during a comment period is substantively important.

It’s the law.

Federal agencies must pause what they’re doing and ask for — and consider — your comment. Read more.

Many of us may have never heard of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), but laws like these require our government to ask the public to weigh in before agencies adopt or change regulations.

Regulations essentially describe how federal agencies will carry out laws — including decisions that could undermine science, or weaken safeguards on public health.

Public comments are collected at various points throughout the federal government’s rulemaking process, including when a regulation is proposed and finalized. (Learn about the rulemaking process.) These comments become part of the official, legal public record — the “Administrative Record.”

When the public responds with a huge outpouring of support for environmental protections, these individual messages collectively undercut politicians' attempts to claim otherwise.

What this means is each of us can take a role in shaping the rules our government creates — and ensuring those rules are fair and effective.