Pennsylvania School District Approves 52 New Propane-Powered School Buses
“We’re moving to convert our bus fleet from diesel to propane,” said district Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bader on Tuesday. “It’s a more environment-friendly fuel option that will save money down the road in service costs.”
Thousands of students spread across more than 200 square miles rely on the district’s transportation program. East Stroudsburg currently has over 100 vehicles in its fleet. The move toward alternative fuel is expected to cut costs significantly.
“The long-term savings are part of our plan for being fiscally responsible to taxpayers,” said Bader. “Propane is a less expensive fuel than diesel, and we can keep the buses longer this way.”
The district participates in a buy-back program that phases out older vehicles in staggered cycles. New bids extend the previous four-year cycle to eight years.
“We turn over a portion of the fleet at one time,” said Bader. “The program we had was basically a lease: we buy them up front, then sell them back to the vendor at the end of the term.”
When a four-year cycle ends in June 2017, the district will return 52 vehicles: 36 are 72-passenger buses, 12 are 48-passenger and four are 30-passenger vans with wheelchair lifts.
In September, school board officials sought bids for the propane replacements. Vendors provided loaner vehicles to the district for evaluation.
“We had several drivers try each of the buses,” said Bader. “They took them on their regular run for a couple days.”
Bus drivers then completed a survey about the experience. Student input also factored in to the evaluation, said Bader. “We asked students how they felt about the buses,” he said. “We looked for things like smoothness of the ride and quietness specifically. Diesel is very noisy; propane is much quieter.”
The bids approved last Monday include 30 of the 72-passenger buses plus another six with storage bins, six of the 48-passenger vans equipped with wheelchair lifts and 10 of the 30-passenger vans. All will run on propane fuel.
Propane-powered vehicles will enter the fleet in July, said Bader, in time for next school year.
(SOURCE COURTESY: Bill Cameron, writer, Pocono Record, Penn.)
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