FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Fort Wayne Community Schools has been awarded a $314,108 grant to install diesel particulate filters (DPFs) on 24 older-model school buses.

The grant, from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, will also pay for the equipment to clean the filters as needed.

“This grant gives us the ability to further clean up our fleet and keep it clean for years to come,” Transportation Director Gary Lake said.

Fort Wayne is working with Hug Filtersystems and Selking International on the project. Hug’s mobiclean DPFs will be installed on 24 full-size, 84-passenger yellow buses, bringing the district’s total number of DPF-equipped buses to 160.

Fort Wayne Community Schools buses transport about two-thirds of the district’s 31,000 students to and from school daily. Officials said that over the past decade, the district has worked to ensure that its buses emit less pollutants.

“Cleaner air benefits everyone, but it is especially important for our students with breathing issues, such as those with asthma, and other medically fragile children,” said Mary Hess, the district’s health services manager. “Every step we can take to reduce pollutants in the air is a positive step.”

Hug officials said that the company’s mobiclean R system achieves a 99.9% emission reduction efficiency and requires only 200 degrees Celsius for 15% of the time in a duty cycle for regeneration. For more information, go to www.hug-filtersystems.com.

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