Tippecanoe School Corporation, the second largest school district in Indiana, announced it is deploying the first five propane-powered school buses of their kind in the state.
“We live in a farming community, and our neighbors know that propane is a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline and diesel,” said Kevin Neafie, transportation director at Tippecanoe. “TSC opened the doors to communication between everyone involved in our adoption of propane autogas. Our drivers are on board knowing they have a bus that is more comfortable and quieter to drive; our community is on board knowing the children are transported safely and their taxpayer dollars are being stretched further; and the district is on board knowing everyone involved is benefiting from the switch.”
The 78-passenger Blue Bird Propane-Powered Vision conventional school buses are going into service prior to the summer break, which begins later this month In November, the district broke ground on a 1,000 gallon propane fueling station. Tippecanoe said in a statement that the infrastructure and new buses incurred virtually no debt, as the Indiana Office of Energy Development granted $52,600 to the project. Tippecanoe also worked with Blue Bird dealer MacAllister Power Systems, propane distributor Ferrellgas and the Energy Department’s Greater Indiana Clean Cities to purchase the buses.
Local business owners donated services to install the propane tank. Tippecanoe added that the county plans to install a second refueling tank.
The Vision school buses meet all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards, Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board certifications, and uses the latest advancements in propane technology, including the ROUSH CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system and the Ford 6.8-liter engine. Tippecanoe said the propane autogas costs $1.94 a gallon compared to diesel prices hovering around the $4 mark.
“It’s exciting to see Tippecanoe School Corporation make the move toward propane autogas, following what the state of Indiana’s Department of Transportation has done with the installation of 115 refueling dispensers across the state,” said Todd Mouw, vice president of sales and marketing at ROUSH CleanTech, which builds the internal propane fueling system. “School district adoption of this technology is a natural next step in the state’s push toward alternative fuels, specifically propane autogas.”
