Meanwhile, Northside Independent School District in San An-
tonio remains committed to protecting the environment. In the 1980s, the district began converting diesel-fueled school buses to propane. Nearly 20 years ago, it established an extensive energy management program that saves $1 million annually in electric- ity and water utility fees. “Northside ISD was ‘green’ long before it was the trend,” said
Superintendent John Folks. “We as educators should be at the forefront of teaching students how to take care of our planet.” One of its schools, Kuentz Elementary, won this year’s PepsiCo
Dream Machine Recycle Rally after recycling more than 1.6 mil- lion bottles and cans. In addition, Northside officials are proud that almost half of
their 821 school buses run on propane. “NISD has 370 Blue Bird propane buses,” said District Communications Director Pascual Gonzalez, “which computes to 45 percent of our fleet.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS Jed Routh, product planning manager for Tomas Built Buses,
agreed that propane is gaining ground in the school bus industry, particularly in Texas, California, Illinois and Minnesota. In Texas, for example, propane has become a popular choice because of backing from the Texas Railroad Commission. Routh said he anticipates production of Tomas’ new propane
Minotour Type A school bus to begin in the first quarter of 2013, based on the expected availability of GM’s new model-year 2013 EPA-certified propane chassis, which will also be an option for other school bus body manufacturers that build on the com- pany’s cut-away chassis. Routh added that Tomas has already delivered two Minotours for crash testing. Mike Taylor, business development director at the Propane
Education & Research Council, said PERC facilitated meetings be- tween Tomas, ROUSH CleanTech and CleanFuel USA a year ago to develop Tomas’ new propane offering. PERC played a similar role in aligning Blue Bird with ROUSH and Ford Motor Company. “Propane is the preferred alternative fuel for school transpor-
tation by far,” said Taylor, who previously worked with Heritage Propane for four years and with Blue Bird for 20. He confirmed customers are lining up for the propane
Minotour by Tomas, which already offers two other alternative- powered buses: the Saf-T-Liner C2e diesel-electric hybrid and Saf-T-Liner HDX CNG. “Tey’re eagerly awaiting it — yesterday wouldn’t have been soon enough,” he said. “Tere is growing interest in propane autogas, and Tomas
Built Bus dealers are excited to offer customers alternative-fuel options in every product category,” said Routh. Loudoun County (Va.) Public Schools (LCPS) currently operates
one Tomas hybrid bus, according to Jeffrey Platenberg, assistant superintendent of support services. When he came aboard six
Top of the Class in Heavy Duty Lifting
Green, Lean & Mean!
Stertil-Koni, #1 in heavy-duty vehicle lifts, is proud to serve the school transportation market. Our complete line of eco-friendly, MADE IN THE USA lifts are specifically engineered for exceptional performance, durability and safety.
www.stertil-koni.com 800-336-6637
Lifts@stertil-koni.com
www.stnonline.com 45
Wireless Mobile Column Lifts
up to 18,000 lbs/column
SKYLIFT
Platform Lift up to 78,000 lbs.
ECOLIFT Scissor Lift up to 90,000 lbs.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100