Georgia Retrofit Program

The Georgia Retrofit Program provides funding assistance to help school systems reduce emissions from their school bus fleets. The program retrofits vehicles through the use of diesel particulate filters in combination with ultra-low sulfur diesel, which has been shown to reduce particulate matter by 70-90%. Retrofitting also includes re-powering or rebuilding an engine, replacing vehicles early, and the use of cleaner fuels. The program is supported by the National Clean Diesel Campaign, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, and the Georgia Pacific Supplemental Environmental Program, as well as outreach organizations that help school systems reach out to their communities to raise funds to retrofit their buses.

The goal of the Georgia Retrofit Program is to improve air quality by reducing emissions among diesel fueled fleet vehicles.

The Georgia Retrofit Program has expanded from a small pilot program to a state-wide program. Seventeen school systems have used more than $5 million in grants to retrofit all or a portion of their fleet, with over 1,000 school buses retrofitted to date. The program has also leveraged the introduction of ultra low sulfur diesel in metro Atlanta, and has expanded to include fleet vehicles other than school buses.