Schools

When suburban Philadelphia’s Lower Merion School District made the decision to switch from diesel to natural gas school buses fifteen years ago, the people who lived nearby couldn’t have.... Read More>

From Maine to California, more than 140 school districts are using natural gas-powered vehicles in their fleets every day. This number will increase as these districts build on their successes and new ones join the trend.

Here’s why:

• Advances in NGV technology over the past decade put school buses powered by natural gas on par with vehicles in terms of durability, performance and reliability.
  
  
  • Natural gas school bus engines deliver torque and horsepower similar or better than diesel and use maintenance-free 3-way catalyst exhaust systems without maintenance-intensive particulate filters and DEF systems.
    
    
  • Natural gas’ low carbon content translates into longer oil change intervals, less engine wear and longer engine life.
    
    
• School districts choose natural gas because they’re cleaner, they reduce fuel and maintenance costs and they displace dependence on foreign oil in favor of domestic natural gas.
  
  
  • Switching to natural gas displaces an average of 1,800-2,500 gallons of diesel fuel a year, and using NGVs in other school vehicle applications displaces even more. About 98% of all natural gas consumed in the US comes from North America.
    
    
  • The favorable cost differential between diesel fuel and natural gas is growing, now averaging about 30-45% . While no one can predict the future, these cost advantages are expected to continue because of America’s abundant domestic supply of natural gas. Click here http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/price_report.html for an update from the federal government on the differential between diesel and natural gas prices.
    
    
  • Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) provide the greatest emission reductions and related environmental benefits of all available alternatives. When used as transportation fuel, natural gas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20-23 percent and 26–29 percent compared with diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles, respectively, according to studies by the California Air Resources Board.
    
    
• The initial higher purchase cost of natural gas school buses is more than offset by fuel and maintenance savings, which means fast payback and substantial life-cycle savings.
  
  
  • Federal incentives further improve NGVs life-cycle cost advantage. Recognizing the many environmental, energy security and economic advantages, a growing number of states are also adopting incentives to accelerate the transition to natural school buses.

Availability of natural gas powered school buses

Factory built

Thomas Built and Blue Bird, provide factory-built Type D natural gas-powered school buses. Both manufacturers use the 2010-compliant Cummins Westport Inc. ISL-G engine, which is available in different HP/torque selections and uses 80 percent of the same parts as the equivalent Cummins diesel engine. These buses are available through the standard dealer network.

Conversions

New and existing International Corporation (IC) Type C school buses (powered by the DT466 and MaxxForce DT, respectively) may be repowered to run on natural gas using an IC Bus-approved Emission Solutions Inc.’s (ESI) 2010-compliant Phoenix 7.6 natural gas engine. In the case of new buses, an in-frame top-end rebuild using the existing block is performed. For older IC buses, ESI repowers the unit using a Phoenix built using a DT466 block as the base and all new cryogenically treated parts for as-new performance and durability. Both ESI repower options are EPA- and CARB-certified.

Beyond the buses

Bright yellow buses may be the most visible NGVS in school fleets, but school districts also are deploying natural gas powered sedans for their healthcare, social services and other central administrative staff, and pickups and vans for their facilities and maintenance personnel. Some districts are even driving home their message of environmental responsibility with students by using NGVs in their driver training programs. Click here
for a complete list of available vehicles.