Also, just a heads up that this blog will take a brief hiatus over the holidays next week, but we’ll be back with all the alternative fuel and fleet industry news you’ve come to expect in the New Year. So, happy holidays, happy New Year, and we’ll see you again in 2013! Here’s what’s making headlines for the week of December 17:

• Student Transportation of America is set to purchase more than 400 propane autogas school buses from Blue Bird Corp. for Omaha Public Schools and Millard Public Schools in Nebraska.

• Alliance AutoGas welcomed new Nova Scotia-based partner Wilsons Fuel Company Ltd., which brings the Alliance complete program to vehicle fleets in Atlantic Canada.

• The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium at West Virginia University has been awarded a new grant for nearly $1 million to train first responders how to handle accidents involving alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.

• The president of Michigan Alliance AutoGas partner Crystal Flash spoke to MLive.com about the international clean fueling and conversion network.

• The Coles County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois has switched two fleet vehicles to propane autogas to save on fuel costs.

• The city of Avon Lake in Ohio is taking measures to open a regional propane autogas fuel station and possibly convert nine city vehicles to bi-fuel autogas systems.

• The new Ford Transit van will come equipped with a natural gas/liquid propane conversion kit.

• The Pound Ridge Police Department in New York state may convert cruisers to run on autogas.

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First, CleanFuel USA is making huge inroads in Texas, outfitting several school districts across the state with autogas school buses and fueling infrastructure. In August, they announced 37 new or expanded contracts with Texas independent school districts for autogas refueling infrastructure equipment, including Austin ISD, Houston ISD and Arlington ISD. Meanwhile, Dallas County Schools switched 53 Type A school buses to run on propane autogas.

According to the article in School Bus Fleet magazine, “Dallas County Schools has been utilizing propane as an alternative fuel for more than 10 years, saving approximately $1.5 million in fuel costs annually, officials said. The new propane buses are anticipated to save the school district more than $200,000 per year.”

Another propane-powered school bus fleet making recent headlines is the District 112 fleet in Minnesota, which saved $67,000 on fuel costs last year running 18 out of 102 buses on clean propane autogas. Transportation Coordinator John Thomas said the school district chose autogas because “the LPG buses seemed like a solid alternative to diesel buses that could help us save money over time and make for a greener environment.”

And just last week, a Florida school district shared its plans to switch school buses to American-made propane autogas. Hernando County School District is still currently testing out an autogas-powered bus on a few high school bus routes, but something tells me once they’ve experienced the benefits of running on autogas, the traditional gasoline school buses in their fleet will be a thing of the past.
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