“All of the customer feedback that we have received has been
extremely positive. Our CNG customers love the CNG HDX, and comment on how easy it is to service and to drive, not to mention how quiet it is and how good their fuel economy has been,” said Jed Routh, product planning manager for Tomas Built Buses. Other manufacturers plan to follow. Collins has said it will
offer the first CNG Type-A school bus later this year, through a partnership with BAF, a subsidiary of Clean Energy. Te compa- nies are completing safety tests and certification of a school bus on a Ford chassis. While Navistar doesn’t currently offer a CNG school-bus prod-
uct, the company is committed to exploring natural gas options. In March, the company started delivering its first ISL-G powered TransStar CNG regional haul tractors, and further down the road it plans to make additional product announcements, which could trickle down to the IC Bus brand. Federal and state governments continue providing incentives to
grow the CNG school bus fleets, especially in California, Florida and Texas. Despite the milestones and customer interest, many point to the spotty CNG fueling stations in North America. “Te fueling infrastructure is easier to develop around a fleet with the same routes. CNG certainly is lower in cost than diesel and gaso- line. When we get enough infrastructure, it will have a bigger benefit to fleets, as well as personal vehicles,” said Bill Calvert, vice president of customer relations and co-founder of BAF Technologies.
ELECTRIC AND HYBRID Hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles continue to gain market
share and headlines in the passenger car and truck markets. Te first electric and hybrid passenger cars – which have different regenerat- ing technologies -- are currently undergoing market share and price wars. Te contenders include the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Focus EV, Honda Fit EV, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius. Tat’s leading to hopeful predictions for EV volume. According
to a recent report from Navigant Research, a total of 21.9 million EVs will be sold worldwide during the period from 2012 to 2020. “Te average price of fuel will likely continue to rise through the
remainder of this decade, driving demand for electric vehicles,” says Dave Hurst, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “Government policy, in terms of purchase incentives, emissions regulations, fuel taxes, and fuel economy rules, will also play a strong role in the expansion of the EV market.” Another recent report by IDTechEX, Ltd, predicts the industrial
and commercial electric vehicle market is set to grow by 420 percent in the coming decade, including heavy industrial vehicles, trucks, taxis and buses. Hybrid and plug-in electric school buses are represented in much
smaller numbers, currently estimated around 1,000 units scattered across the United States. “Electric is an example where technologies are proved out in other industries, but it hasn’t yet for school buses,” said Doswell. In 2006, Navistar subsidiary IC Bus introduced the first PHEV,
See Us At Booth #257 52 School Transportation News July 2013
See Us At Booth #259
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