With a grant provided through the EPA, a new program from NAPT will help school districts take older diesel buses and extend their life by converting them to run on compressed natural gas, as the buses shown here do.
ALBANY, N.Y. — A new program from the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) will help school districts convert older buses to run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
The grant for the program was provided through the U.S. EPA from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
The National School Bus Equity Investment Lease Program, as it has been dubbed, aims to help qualified districts take diesel school buses that are scheduled for retirement and cost-effectively extend their life by converting them to CNG.
Program officials say it can save districts as much as 50 percent on the interest rate to finance the cost of repowering a school bus with a new CNG engine.
The program manages the sourcing for conversion to CNG, the utilization of EPA funds and the lease program. It also works with participating districts to monitor monthly fuel consumption and resultant emissions reductions.
For more information, and to find out about qualifying for the program, go to www.schoolbusmoney.org.