customers are developing a greater understanding of the health benefits, noise reduction, safety improvements and maintenance efficiencies of these vehicles. The fact is alternative fuels offer a better total ownership experience.” National Express started investing in propane in 2014 and currently operates several hundred propane school buses for customers in Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Texas, and Washington. In Council Rock, Pennsyl- vania, the company is rolling out 55 propane buses this year with plans for a full-fleet transition by next year. Noble noted that propane incentives in states with heavy petroleum operations such as Texas and Pennsylvania are more likely to hasten adoption. National Express also helps districts identify the best
charging infrastructure and possible utility incentives and partnerships for customers with electric buses. On the propane front it works “with fuel suppliers on volume pricing which incorporates any tax credits, bulk price incentives, and infrastructure costs,” with fuel sup- pliers generally helping customers build above-ground propane tanks, Noble said. Meanwhile, STA continues to operate the country’s
largest all-propane school bus fleet, with 400 buses purchased in 2012 for public schools in Omaha, Ne- braska. STA was also the first to introduce propane
and alternate-fuel vehicles to communities in St. Paul, Minnesota; Grand Junction, Colorado; Canby, Lake Os- wego and Tigard, Oregon; and others. The company has 100 more on order. “Propane is still a major part of our plan,” said STA senior vice president Douglas Gallagher. STA also has electric bus pilot programs running in
California, New Jersey and Vermont, and electric buses on order for Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. “We are aggressively seeking grants to acquire as
many electric vehicles as we can,” said Gallagher. “We have an in-house grant committee that meets every oth- er week to go over existing grants and we look at future grants to secure. We are starting to receive interest for school boards to acquire electric vehicles in their fleets. If grant money is available, we will pursue it.” Last year, STA and Blue Bird announced an electric bus
pilot at Los Angeles Unified School District. Charging stations were installed in cooperation with the Los An- geles Department of Water and Power, which used the project as a mentoring opportunity for participants in its Cleantech incubator. Those buses have now traveled about 20,000 miles, performing well, according to STA. “What sets our electric program apart is its strategic
rollout in varied neighborhoods, all of which have vastly different characteristics that could affect mileage, idling
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