Looking to keep costs down? In this economy, who isn’t? Try saving fuel and the environment by minimizing school bus idling
By Stephane Babcock
funds to control emissions and clean the air is about as easy as turning water into wine. Tree winters ago, the crew at Wash-
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oe County School District in Reno, Nev., awoke to an extremely cold morning. At about 15 below zero, the wintery weather was wreaking havoc on about 80 of the transportation department’s fleet of 275 school buses. Te issue involved the high pressure injector systems, which were causing the oil to stay cold, keeping the engines from starting. “We just had a heck of a time getting the
fleet going that day,” said Fleet Operations Manager Todd Duncan. “So we had about 80 buses that just would not cooperate, and it took a few hours and batteries and heaters and all kinds of stuff.” And so began the search to not only
avoid this type of issue from occuring again but to also keep from idling the buses to an operating temperature every morning. First the transportation depart- ment tried plug-in block heaters that they combined with large diesel genera- tors powered by lots of extension cords. But this became a safety hazard. “So it was presented to me by the
gentleman from the [Nevada Division of Environmental Protection] in Janu- ary that he had some funding available,” said Duncan, explaining that the funding would be used to purchase school bus heaters for each of the buses, without any cost to the district. Te install was slated to begin this sum-
mer with 40 to 50 buses completed each month. Te bulk of the fleet will be com-
dle hands are the devil’s tools, so they say. But what is an idling bus? For many districts it equals wasted fuel and poor air quality for those in the direct vicinity of the vehicles. But, for many districts, finding the
pleted before wintertime, with the rest scheduled to be finished by next July. Paul Baczewski, Webasto’s national ac-
count manager, worked with Duncan before the grant from the Nevada DEP ever came into the picture. After run- ning a pilot on the company’s school bus heaters about a year and a half ago, the district realized the savings more than outweighed the costs. “I tell customers that if they are success-
ful in cutting down one hour of idle per day per bus, in a 25 bus fleet they can save over 1,300 gallons of fuel over a 90-day period,” said Baczewski. “So that’s a short-term pay- back, and that’s strictly in fuel savings.” Although fuel savings is number one on
many districts’ wish lists when looking into this type of technology, there are other added benefits, including a greater longev- ity for maintenance parts such as starters, alternators and batteries. Since the vehicle
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need for more frequent oil changes and engine maintenance,” commented Paula Bishop, manager of transportation and environmental affairs for Espar. “Tis in- creases the district’s transportation cost beyond the cost of the fuel alone.” But with fuel costs on a constant roller
coaster, districts are more interested in the fuel savings aspects because there are tangible direct dollar values tied to them, a benefit that operators can put right back into budgets, according to Baczewski. “Not to say that they’re not interested
in listening to the emissions standpoint, but reducing emissions has no financial benefit back to the school district,” ex- plained Baczewski. Te reduction in emissions is a definite
added bonus, especially when it comes to grant funding, as most school bus grants are tied to reducing emissions and a dis- trict’s carbon footprint.
I tell customers that if they are successful
in cutting down one hour of idle per day per bus, in a 25 bus fleet they can save over 1,300
gallons of fuel over a 90-day period. ❞ — Paul Baczewski, Webasto
is being put under less stress or wear and tear on the starter and other engine com- ponents, which goes along with trying to start a cold engine, districts will benefit from less frequently replacing certain parts. “Idling engines for a prolonged period
for heat and defrost is hard on the engine and quickly degrades the oil, causing the
“It’s all about getting cleaner diesel
vehicles on the road,” said Washoe’s Dun- can. “And the Nevada DEP has been very supportive.” But engine heaters are not the only
way to keep the buses from “over-idling.” Espar’s Bishop suggested designating a warm waiting area inside a school build-
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