New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP)

Description of goods to services to be bid:

Revision: 6-7-24

Implementation Manual changes:
1. Definitions
a. Added Provisional Purchaser Order and Final Purchase Order to support the
new School Bus Voucher Application and Redemption process.
2. Section 1.3.2.1
a. Clarified that the new EPA Stacking amounts process won’t go into effect until
July 1, 2024.
3. Section 2.3.2.1
a. Clarified that the scrapped vehicles must meet the requirements at the date of
application.
4. Section 2.5
a. Changed the School Bus Voucher Caps rules. District and Sub-District Caps
apply for each school district and third-party operator.
5. Section 3.2.3
a. Added details about future compliance with ISO standards.
b. Removed redundant language.
6. Section 4.1
a. Added that the Purchaser and Dealer are required to report at the time of School
Bus Voucher Application the date that the ESBs will be voted on.
b. Added that the Dealer must submit award letters to the NYSERDA Portal 4
months from the application approval date.
c. Added that the Dealer must submit a Final Purchase Order to the NYSERDA
Portal 6 months from the application approval date.
d. Clarified that the Dealer has 18 months from the application approval date
submit for Voucher Redemption.
7. Section 8.1
a. Added that the Purchaser and Dealer are required to report at the time of School
Bus Voucher Application the date that the ESBs will be voted on.
b. Defined what a Provisional Purchase Order must include.
c. Clarified when applications should be submitted.
8. Section 8.2
a. Clarified that the voucher amount and approval date will be in the award letter.
9. Section 9.1.1
a. Clarified that at least two DOT Inspections should be submitted.
10. Section 9.2
a. Clarified what activities must be completed during the 18 month redemption
period.
11. Section 9.2.1
a. Added that Dealer must submit award letters to the NYSERDA Portal 4 months
from application approval date.
b. Added that the Dealer must submit a Final Purchase Order to the NYSERDA
Portal 6 months from application approval date.
c. Defined what is included in a Final Purchase Order.
12. Section 9.2.2
a. Clarified that the Dealer has 18 months from the application approval date
submit for Voucher Redemption.
b. Clarified that a School Bus Voucher’s new expiration date can be no later than
24 months from the application approval date.
13. Section 10.2
a. Clarified the required supporting documents for Charging Voucher Application
14. Made additional minor non-substantive stylistic/clarifying changes

Implementation Manual changes:

Definitions
-Added NYSBIP Stacking Amount definition to support the new stacking language.
-Added NYSBIP Charging Voucher Portal definition to support the new charging voucher process and to clarify that this is the portal that Purchasers to submit Charging Voucher Applications.
-Change the NYSERDA Portal definition clarify that the NYSERDA Portal is for Dealers to submit School Bus Voucher Applications.

Section 1.1
-Changed the amount of time that Purchasers must update their Charging Voucher Application information from 90 to 60 days.

Section 1.3.2. Voucher Stacking
-Added additional details and requirements regarding stacking NYSBIP and other programs.
-Reduce NYSBIP award amount when stacked with US EPA Clean School Bus Program

Section 2.3.2.1 Scrappage Bonus Requirements
-Clarified who must be the owner of the scrap bus and added additional requirements.

Section 2.5 School Bus Voucher Caps
-Clarified end date for the current vehicle caps. Added additional caps for third-party operators.

Section 3.1 Charging Voucher Amounts
-Added Charging Voucher caps at $2M until December 1, 2025.

Section 3.1.1 Fleet Electrification Plan Requirements
-Clarified that Purchasers must submit their Fleet Electrification Plan or additional documents to qualify for the additional charging voucher funds.
-Clarified that Purchasers have 180 days after Charging Voucher Application pre-approval to submit their Fleet Electrification Plans
-Clarified Charging Voucher cap amounts for Purchasers.

Section 3.2.1 Eligible Charging Infrastructure and Installation Costs
-Updated Figure 1 to reflect the changes to the Make-Ready program

Section 4.2 Charging Voucher Process
-Updated the language in step 1 to reflect changes made in Section 3.1.1.
-Clarified that Purchasers who submit for Charging Voucher Application pre-approval without charger information have 60 days to submit their charger information
-Clarified that Purchasers who submit for Charging Voucher Application pre-approval and are submitting a Fleet Electrification Plan have 180 days to submit their charger information and Fleet Electrification Plan.

Section 5.1 School Bus Eligibility Requirements
-Changed requirements regarding model year of new buses allowed.

Section 9.1 School Bus Scrappage
-Included school districts as an entity that can scrap to match updates made in Section 2.3.2.1 Scrappage Bonus Requirements.

Section 9.1.1 Required Scrappage Documents
-Added DOT inspection records as a required document and clarified other document descriptions.

Section 10.2 Charging Voucher Application Process
-Updated language to reflect Fleet Electrification Plan updates in 3.1.1 and formalized charging voucher process.
-Updated language to reflect pre-approval timelines in 4.2

Section 10.3 Charging Voucher Approval
-Updated language to reflect Fleet Electrification Plan updates in 3.1.1.
-Updated language to reflect pre-approval timelines in 4.2

Made additional minor non-substantive stylistic/clarifying changes.

Scrappage Attestation Form:
-Added language confirming that Scrappage was done in accordance with the requirements in the New York School Bus Incentive Program Implementation Manual.

In 2022 New York State (State) enacted a law requiring that school bus fleets serving public schools be fully comprised of zero-emission school buses by 2035 to achieve the State public purpose of mitigating climate change, reducing pollution, and producing cleaner air for children and communities. NYSERDA has established the School Bus Voucher Incentive Program (SBVIP) to achieve these State public purposes and assist school districts in complying with this mandate.

SBVIP is a voucher incentive program aimed to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission school buses in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle weight classes throughout New York State using funds allocated by the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act (Bond Act). Zero-emission school buses include both electric school buses (also referred to as ESBs) and hydrogen fuel cell school buses.

SBVIP will help facilitate the transition to zero-emission buses by increasing the use of zero-emission vehicle technologies which benefit the health of students and drivers, improving air quality by reducing harmful vehicle emissions and greenhouse gases, and by lessening New York State’s transportation sector’s dependence on petroleum.

SBVIP goals are:

Provide all school districts an opportunity to purchase zero-emission school buses through SBVIP.

Ensure at least 35% and ideally 40% of benefits accrue to Disadvantaged Communities.

Include a charging infrastructure component to help districts purchase chargers and/or supportive infrastructure.

If changes are made to this solicitation notification will be posted on NYSERDA’s website at: www.nyserda.ny.gov/funding-opportunities

Eligibility/Qualifications Requirements/Preferences:

Eligible Purchasers:

In terms of ownership, the following Fleets may apply to NYSBIP.

New York State public school districts or other public entities that provide K-12 pupil transportation services;

Third-party Operators under contract with a New York State public school districts; or

Third parties leasing a school bus to one of the above for at least 5 years (required time of operations)