School district buys 16 hybrid buses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With the help of federal stimulus funds, Jefferson County Public Schools has acquired 16 hybrid school buses.

The Thomas Built Buses hybrids were purchased through Whayne Supply Co.

Thomas Clark of Eaton Corp., which supplies the hybrid system for the buses, said the vehicles have been achieving 20 to 30 percent gains in fuel economy.

Sheldon Berman, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, said that "the kind of savings we're likely to realize out of this in the long term is substantial."

The district transports 66,000 students a day, covering 100,000 miles.

Mike Mulheirn, executive director of facilities and transportation for the district, noted that some 20-year-old buses are being replaced.

"We're cutting that [particulate matter] footprint by 98 percent — in fact, over 98 percent," Mulheirn said.