Blue Bird reports favorable fuel economy performance

FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Blue Bird Corp. announced Friday that its Type C Vision school bus performed favorably in independent third-party fuel economy testing.

The tests were run on a closed track at the Transportation Research Center to simulate a rural school bus route. Blue Bird said in a statement that the Vision, powered by a 2007 Cummins ISB engine, showed “a significant fuel economy advantage … versus a competitor’s similar size and configured bus with like horsepower and torque ratings powered by the Navistar MaxxForce DT.”

“We are very pleased to have our expectations proven out,” said Roger Howsmon, Blue Bird’s chief marketing officer and senior VP sales. “Depending on the bus and powertrain configuration — and assuming 15,000 miles per year and $3.00 per gallon of diesel — a school district could save over $1,000 per year and over $12,000 in 12 years per bus.”

Cummins reported separate testing results of a 17.2-percent economy advantage for the ISB versus the MaxxForce 7 on a closed track simulating an urban school bus route, and an 18.8-percent economy advantage in closed track testing set to mirror an interstate school activity bus route.