The Houston Independent School District received the 2013 Excellence in Public Fleet Sustainability award from the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) for its dedication to alternative fuels.
The Fleet Excellence Award, or “Flexy,” given on May 2 at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., before an audience of 1,600 was based on specific, document criteria from key performance indicators, including a fleet’s composition of conventional fuel vehicles versus those powered by alternative fuels. Houston ISD added 27 propane autogas school buses to the fleet in 2011, and then another 58 propane autogas buses and 27 propane autogas vans. A year earlier, the district also introduced biodiesel into its fleet of buses and light-duty commerical vehicles.
The district operates about 850 school buses that transport 31,000 students daily throughout a 301-square-mile area. Mark Swackhamer (pictured), Houston ISD’s senior manager of fleet operations, accepted the award at the NAFA event.
NAFA also considered employee involvement and supporting programs in selecting Houston ISD over the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Houston’s drivers monitor engine idling and all transportation staff recycle “everything from batteries and oil filters to engine and transmission fluids,” the district said in a statement.
Houston ISD was also recognized as the only school district in the state to partner with the University of Houston on a research project that tests school bus filters that convert engine emissions into water and nitrogen gass.
“This award is a great recognition of the drive and determination of the entire transportation team, from the bus drivers who monitor engine idling, to the shop team members who reduce their waste stream,” HISD Transportation General Manager Nathan Graf said. “Everyone in the department played an essential role in this award.”
The Fleet Excellence Awards, considered the industry’s “Oscars,” was the first for Houston ISD, but not the district’s first national recognition. The transportation department for the largest school district in Texas was named a Top 40 Green Fleet in 2011 and a Top 100 Government Fleet the following year. Houston ISD was also a finalist for the National Association for Pupil Transportation’s Leland E.G. “Lee” Larson Quality Student Transportation Award last fall for an exemplary fleet management and operations.
“I am extremely honored to work with such an outstanding team,” said Swackhamer. “HISD is committed to reducing idle time, increasing routing efficiencies, and using alternative fuels, and this helped us win this award,”
Swackhamer was also named a “Sustainability All-Star” last year by Green Fleet Magazine and is a past presenter on alternative fuels at the STN EXPO in Reno, Nev.
In addition to Houston ISD, NAFA recognized six other organizations and representatives for their outstanding achievement in corporate fleet management and public service fleet management, excellence in corporate sustainability and safety, excellence in public fleet safety and excellence in fleet leadership.
“We have set a new standard for fleet excellence, and for the presentation of fleet excellence awards,” said Phillip E. Russo, executive director of NAFA. “It is unparalleled in the world and gives our Flexy awards instant credibility.”
