Friday, September 29, 2017
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) began to study the feasibility of using propane-fueled vehicles throughout Chicago’s bus system in late 1949. One bus was put into actual use in the transit system so CTA engineers could secure first-hand information on the advantages of propane. 
This provided ample opportunity to compare operating costs and performance records with other types of fuel for buses. The bus was loaned by the Twin Coach Company, Kent, Ohio for a three-month trial.
At the end of the trial period, the CTA ordered 500 of the buses, one of the largest single orders (at that time) ever placed by any transit company.
(SOURCE: Propane in America: The First 100 Years 1912-2012, available at BPNews.com)
This provided ample opportunity to compare operating costs and performance records with other types of fuel for buses. The bus was loaned by the Twin Coach Company, Kent, Ohio for a three-month trial.
At the end of the trial period, the CTA ordered 500 of the buses, one of the largest single orders (at that time) ever placed by any transit company.
(SOURCE: Propane in America: The First 100 Years 1912-2012, available at BPNews.com)
