
Alt-Fuel Moves: Product Innovations & Funding Outlooks
Check out some of the latest moves where alternative fuels and school buses intersect, including electric and propane bus deployments, new EV products, and an update from CARB.
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Check out some of the latest moves where alternative fuels and school buses intersect, including electric and propane bus deployments, new EV products, and an update from CARB.
Read More →The school bus manufacturer announces at the NAPT Summit that it will develop a Saf-T-Liner C2 powered by compressed natural gas. Also, Thomas Built’s new propane Type A is now in production, and its propane Type C is expected to be available next year.
Read More →During the event hosted by ROUSH CleanTech and organized by Blue Bird dealer Cardinal Bus Sales, 30 Ohio school district representatives go on a 300-mile roundtrip ride between Lima, Ohio, and Livonia, Mich., in the propane-powered Vision. They learn about ROUSH’s liquid propane fuel system and product platforms, and tour the company’s emissions testing dynamometer lab and the manufacturing facility.
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School buses are among the vehicles being replaced or retrofitted in the latest round of funding for the Diesel Emission Reduction Program, also known as DERA. Sioux Falls (S.D.) School District, for example, is being awarded $450,000 for replacing 18 school buses.
Read More →State director Ben Shew tells SBF that propane’s price and its availability in West Virginia are key factors in school districts’ interest in the alternative fuel. He says that switching to propane could save more than $3,100 in fuel costs annually per bus.
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Kelley Platt, the company's president and CEO, says that transportation changes many districts are making — from running buses longer to increasing walking distances — have reduced the need for new buses and aren’t likely to be reversed. In turn, the OEM is focused on becoming more cost-effective in its manufacturing while maintaining quality. Platt discusses the market shifts, cost of ownership and product developments with SBF.
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The California Highway Patrol maintains that the green rails on Napa Valley Unified School District’s buses are not in compliance with state and national standards. Director of Transportation Ralph Knight discusses with SBF the benefits he says he believes the green rails provide, and the steps he’s taking to try to revise California’s regulations on school bus colors after an exemption request to allow the green rails was denied by the highway patrol.
Read More →Officials say that at 10,000 square feet, the new facility is double that of the previous facility, and that its configuration allows for better use of production space, including a dedicated clean room for sensitive component assembly and an expanded prototype shop for developing new designs and systems.
Read More →A Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition team, which includes Eaton Corp. and the Kentucky Department of Education, receives the first Visionary Leadership Award from the Southeast Diesel Collaborative Group. Eaton assembles the hybrid system for the buses, and the coalition provides the buses through a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
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The EPA’s first-ever rebate program will be a pilot focusing specifically on replacing older school buses. School districts and contractors will be among those eligible for the program, which will provide rebates ranging from $20,000 to $30,000.
Read More →John Phraner will replace Dan Daniels, who plans to leave the Type A school bus manufacturer before the end of the year to be closer to his family. Phraner spent the last 22 years at North East Fabricators as the general manager, and the company has been a supplier to Trans Tech.
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