available, they further accelerate the savings—and it helps them sunset their older, dirtier diesel buses much faster. Ultimately, all we want is a level playing field for all of the technologies.
STN: What’s the role of renewable propane going forward, and what updates can you share on availability? Mouw: Tere is probably a more in-depth response from the
Propane Education & Research Council, which is investing in the development of this fuel, but the future does look bright for renewable propane. It is available in the United States today, and the pricing is on par with traditional propane. So, as the demand grows in places like California, the producers of renewable propane will begin to develop the infrastructure to distribute this fuel efficiently. Our position is that electric is great and is characterized as “zero emission,” but a Blue Bird propane bus with our low-NOx engine technology, coupled with renewable propane, is a much more cost-effective method to get to a “zero emission” place.
STN: Regarding the comparison between propane and diesel, some people in the industry claim that much of the marketing message is centering on new propane vs. older diesel. What’s your perspective? Mouw: Tis is a very good question. I have a lot of respect for Tomas Built Buses, but I believe they are promoting this message because they don’t have a viable propane or gasoline engine solution today that meets 2018 heavy-duty onboard diagnostics require-
ments. Blue Bird, with our support, has done a great job of listening to the needs of the market and responding with a variety of nondie- sel powertrain options that can be right-sized to the need. A lot of that is driven by the fact that Blue Bird wakes up every day focused on one mission: How do I build the best and safest school bus for our customers, with the best total cost of ownership, so that money can be spent in the right place…on our kids’ education? To be clear, I am not saying that the diesel engine is dead. But in
low speed, heavy start-and-stop applications such as student trans- portation, the complexity and cost of the diesel engine is not the right solution. Tat is supported by the leading commercial fleets in North America in this vehicle class that are moving to alternatives to diesel, such as propane, natural gas, EV, hybrid, as well as gasoline. We have over 1,500 districts with our propane and gasoline
powertrain technology, and the savings and emissions reduction data cannot be ignored. We have hundreds of millions of miles of data to support these claims and a long list of satisfied customers. Spark ig- nited engines for student transportation is a trend that is here to stay.
STN: Tank you.
Visit
stnonline.com/go/bg to read more about ROUSH CleanTech’s unveiling of an electrified Ford F-650 truck at the
ACT EXPO this month, and what Todd Mouw said about the potential it holds for the school bus segment.
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www.stnonline.com 33 Student Transportation News, STN, 11/17 issue 877.843.3847 •
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