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School Bus M8
Top Member
USA
617 Posts |
 Posted - 04/16/2008 : 2:20:51 PM
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| The school district I work for leases a fleet of 26, 77 passenger flatnose, front engine buses every three years. They also lease 13 small buses every three years. Right now we are in our first year of our big buses and in our last year of our small buses. Today we had a safety meeting and the school districts business manager informed us thar our new small buses coming in August will be using gasoline rather than diesel. He also told us that our new fleet of large buses coming in in a couple of years will also run on gasoline. He explained that running a gasoline bus might be cheaper than running a diesel bus. Will the cost of running a gas bus be more benefical than a diesel bus? Do you think schools and contractors will go back to gasoline? |
Edited by - School Bus M8 on 04/16/2008 6:41:31 PM
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mrwaibel
Senior Member
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2008 : 7:49:06 PM
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| Gasoline engines don't have any business in large school buses they may cost less upfront but in the long run your much better off with a diesel, diesels run so much smoother and are more reliable over the long run. Gas buses require alot more work to keep then going like more frequent oil changes, spark plug changes, and gas engines are harder on exhaust systems due to the hotter operating temperature. Another thing gas engines can't be idled for long periods of time or the spark plugs will foul. Gas engines just can't hold up to heavy duty use like a diesel and a diesel engine is more efficient my 04 Blue Bird International with a DT-466 and overdrive averages between 9.0 and 9.3 miles per gallon, a gas equivalent would be lucky to get 4 MPG. |
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NWCROWN
Advanced Member
USA
461 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2008 : 9:59:06 PM
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I'd like to know where they plan on getting new gasoline-powered flat-nose buses.
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busgeek++
Advanced Member
United States
253 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 07:05:24 AM
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| Idling is no worse for a gas engine than a diesel. Gassers start to foul the plugs, diesels start to clog the turbo and blow snot into the exhaust system, not to mention that they both wash the cylinder walls with fuel at idle. |
Buses are not a way of life, they are life |
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 10:22:28 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by School Bus M8
He also told us that our new fleet of large buses coming in in a couple of years will also run on gasoline. He explained that running a gasoline bus might be cheaper than running a diesel bus. Will the cost of running a gas bus be more benefical than a diesel bus? Do you think schools and contractors will go back to gasoline?
What buses will those be?
We still run twenty-four gasoline-powered buses. All of them are 66-passenger 1996-2003 Blue Bird GMC CV200s (aside from the one shorty which is a 23 + 3 W/C). Since 2004, the Blue Birds have slowly been leaving the lot one or two at a time and have been replaced with either IC CE-200s or IC RE-300s, depending on the need at the time. We currently have nine IC CE-200s and four IC RE-300s, with more on the way.
Some people at work would love for Blue Bird to hurry up and introduce an actual gasoline-powered Vision so we could go back that route, but the Internationals seem to be winning over most of those who count when it comes to our purchasing decisions. For now at least. I couldn't honestly say what would happen if a new gasoline options were introduced in the future. |
Edited by - Buskid on 04/17/2008 10:26:10 AM |
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School Bus M8
Top Member
USA
617 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 5:05:39 PM
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"He also told us that our new fleet of large buses coming in in a couple of years will also run on gasoline."
I would like to make a correction about this statement. He atated that there is a possiblity that our fleet of large buses may run on gasoline the next time around.
"What buses will those be?"
I'm not sure. This fleet and the last fleet of school buses were Thomas Ef's. The two fleets before that were Bluebird fe's. It depends who puts in the bid.
"I'd like to know where they plan on getting new gasoline-powered flat-nose buses."
Judging by your statement I guess it's okay to say that there are no flat-nose school buses right now. We will not be getting a new fleet of buses until the 2010-2011 school year. By that time maybe flat nose buses will be available with gas engines. If not the district I guess wil have to decide to lease flat-nose diesels or conventional gasoline buses. It could be very possible that they go back to conventionals. They used to have conventionals before 1995.
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bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 5:47:16 PM
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The topics posted on SBF recently indicate that a gas-powered Blue Bird Vision (conventional) is a sure thing in the near future. Speculation is that a gasser All American isn't far off, could be as early as 2010. Is it possible your district would switch to conventionals?
We all know diesel engines are more efficient than gas. But how much money does that save? With diesel more than a dollar a gallon more (filled a bus at $4.45 today), all the other cost savings with gas start to add up. Especially with 2010 emissions when the purchase price of a diesel engine will skyrocket again. |
Edited by - bus724 on 04/17/2008 5:52:18 PM |
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pbfreak30
Senior Member
USA
171 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 7:52:01 PM
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| our fleet is being converted to all C2's at a pretty fast rate too...we are repalcing between 40 and 50 buses this year, i haent heard the exact #, i just know that is the ball park figure, and that we are going back to CUMMINS power over the driver preferred Benz Powerplant |
ARROW transportation RP..the best out there! |
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Our next fleet of new buses
