❝
If you are creative enough
and work with your sales people, you can get a bus for
practically nothing.❞ — Ralph Knight, Napa Valley (Calif.) Unified School District
“Tose vehicles ran very well,” Alverts said. “I think 30 years
from now we will probably see a lot of CNG use, but the problem is there is no infrastructure for CNG vehicles, especially if you are a rural district like we are.” Robert Kanter, general sales manager for Auto Safety House
in Arizona, said CNG mileage and infrastructure support have always been concerns along with the initial cost of the vehicle. “A lot of school districts have expressed interest, but while
grants may offset the cost of the bus, which is more expensive to begin with, they do not significantly offset the cost of the infra- structure, such as refueling stations,” he says, adding that some years ago CNG buses traveling from Georgia to Arizona got as far as El Paso, Texas, before they had to be trucked the rest of the
way because there were no refueling stations along that route. Knight says that early on few school districts applied for fund-
ing, which made it easier for those that did to obtain grants. Tat is changing. “Sometimes people are slow to embrace new technologies. Peo-
ple tend to think, ‘If it starts up and runs every day, don’t bother me.’ [Te agencies] have streamlined [the process] well enough that it’s not hard to do. Te hard part for them is judging who gets the money from limited funds. It’s not that all school districts don’t deserve the money. Tey must decide where the money is needed most.” ■
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