Washington, D.C. — Today, Power The Future is formally requesting the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) launch an immediate audit into federal spending on electric transit and school bus programs after multiple taxpayer-funded buses failed during routine winter conditions. As reported today exclusively by Fox News, during Winter Storm Fern five electric transit buses in Vermont were taken out of service because they could not reliably operate or charge in cold temperatures. The buses reportedly cost nearly $8 million, with more than 95 percent of the purchase coming from federal funding. Similar breakdowns and deployment failures have surfaced nationwide in electric school buses.
"Spending taxpayer dollars on buses in Vermont that can't be used in the cold is like buying a fire truck that can't get wet: expensive, useless, and reeking of either fraud or incompetence," said Daniel Turner, Founder and Executive Director for Power The Future. "Minnesota's daycare fraud proves what happens when Washington hands out checks with no accountability, and failing electric buses look like the same playbook. If these vehicles can't handle a normal American winter, then this program isn't just wasteful - it's a failure."
PTF's letter also highlights broader oversight failures within the Clean School Bus Program, where federal auditors found weak tracking and accountability while more than $836 million flowed out the door with little follow-up. According to the letter, school buses in several locations are sitting idle, charging infrastructure unfinished, and school districts are struggling to keep vehicles on the road.
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