Blue Bird is increasingly positioning itself as the premier manufacturer of Autogas-fueled buses. Their propane-powered Type C Vision bus has been cropping up all over the country. Now, the company says that it’s revamping its Autogas bus offering to include a Type A Micro Bus. Thomas Built Buses wants to jump on the proverbial bandwagon, too, according to a new article by School Transportation News.
These recent developments follow the news that a school district in New Mexico has followed in El Paso’s footsteps after recently announcing that they will be using Autogas buses in the future. Ray Trejo, Transportation Director for Deming ISD, checked out the propane Vision Blue Bird mentioned above, which sells for $90,000 to $91,000, compared to $85,000 for a diesel-powered bus. Even with that small price differential, the choice was obvious.
Autogas is a cheaper fuel, cleaner, and a great choice of fuel for school bus fleets. In some areas where smog is a growing concern, Autogas bus fleets have cut tons of polluting NOx, Carbon Monoxide, and greenhouse gases (GHG) like CO2. Some districts, like Portland, Ore., already run the majority of their buses on propane Autogas.
Read all you ever wanted to know about Autogas-powered buses and recent progress by following the links above.
Note: Is your school district thinking about alternative fuels? We’d love to hear what are the most important factors in switching to another fuel. Leave your comments on our blog!
