Uphaus noted that a typical propane station setup of-
ten only needs to take the place of a few parking spaces, and mobile fueling is an option if the district needs more flexibility or doesn’t have space for a permanent station. “Your local propane provider will send propane bobtails to fill up the buses at the location and timeframe you chose, if you work out an arrangement with them,” Up- haus added. “There are also thousands of public propane stations available across the nation.” As previously reported, the Cypress-Fairbanks
Independent School District in Houston has 336 propane buses and 18,000-gallon fuel tanks at each of the five transportation centers. The fueling islands are equipped with four to eight nozzles. Director of Transportation Kayne Smith comment-
ed recently that when the district received its first 13 propane buses, the vehicles were fueled directly by a fuel provider with no permanent infrastructure installed, giv- ing the district time to figure out longer-term plans. He added that fuel providers often pay for propane fueling infrastructure, and grants are also available. “For us, it’s just working with whoever you’re part- nering with,” Smith relayed. “Whoever will be designing and constructing your infrastructure, have them come out and do site visits and know how many buses you’re going to want in your fleet, so you can make the right decision on what size tank you put in. It’s also under- standing the city and local government’s expectations around propane tanks and fueling. Expectations and laws may vary state by state. Really take your time to just have a goal in mind as to what you want to accomplish.” In terms of training, Uphaus said that a propane fuel system is similar to a gasoline fuel system. “Many of the propane vehicle manufacturers will provide training for mechanics, and that is something to make sure you ask about before making any purchase decisions. What type of training is offered, in what format and at what cost?” she noted. John Aymil, director of transportation for Randolph
Township School District in New Jersey, noted that his operation is using two propane fueling pumps each with a 1,000-gallon tank to serve 32 propane-powered buses. “It takes about as much time to fuel a propane bus as
any other bus,” he said. “Also, drivers must be trained how to use the fuel pumps and be given safety glasses and gloves to fuel. But it is very easy to fuel a propane bus.” Meanwhile preparing mechanics and drivers for alter-
native fuels buses may be getting even easier. Cummins announced in February that it is bringing to market the first fuel agnostic engines for commercial applications. This means gasoline, diesel, propane, CNG, and hydro- gen will have uniform engine platforms and parts needs
38 School Transportation News • APRIL 2022
One of Cypress-Fairbank ISD’s propane tanks was installed last September near Houston. Today, the district has an 18,000-gallon fuel tank at each of the district’s five transportation centers.
below the gasket, simplifying the repair and parts inven- tory needs of districts as they integrate alternative fuels into existing fleets.
Opportunity and Obstacles in Illinois In Illinois, districts looking to electrify their fleets have access to not only the federal funds but a largely un- tapped reservoir of Volkswagen settlement funds. Last year Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the remainder of the state’s settlement money—$88 million—would go toward electric school buses and charging infrastructure, yet much of it remains unspent. Investment in electric buses has been very slow in the state so far, in part be- cause of the difficulty in getting information about the funding program and the daunting task of adding new infrastructure for perennially cash-strapped and over- burdened districts, local experts say. In January, the Illinois EPA announced $4.2 million in
electric school bus grants in the Chicago and St. Louis areas. Among those, District 65 in Evanston, a suburb north of Chicago, will get a new electric bus for its Head Start program, thanks in large part to the work of students at Northwestern University’s sustainability and energy graduate program who helped the bus provider Compass Transportation complete funding applications. Mas- ter’s student Erik Snyder and his peers found out about a previous round of Volkswagen funding only about a month before the application was due, and worked with Compass Transportation and Susan Mudd, a senior pol- icy advocate at the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center, to put together an application as part of their academic work. “We had a lot of conversations, built up that relation-
ship, worked hand-in-hand, and were able to write the grant and get it submitted,” Snyder said.
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
