RENO, Nev. — North Kansas City School District in Missouri took delivery of the first 110 Type C CNG school buses manufactured by Thomas Built Buses, an order size the OEM said represents the company’s largest single CNG conversion in the nation to date.
Thomas Built Buses made the announcement at the STN EXPO Trade Show on Tuesday.
In June, Thomas began production of its new Saf-T-Liner C2 CNG, the first conventional school bus from the factory to run on the alternative fuel. Thomas has already sold more than 2,000 of its Saf-T-Liner HDX CNG transit-style school buses over the past two decades, including to North Kansas City beginning in 2010.
“This is a significant event for us and for the school bus industry as a whole,” commented Caley Edgerly, president and CEO at Thomas. “Compressed natural gas always has been a popular choice for our customers because it is a lower-priced fuel which burns more cleanly, and we have an abundant fuel supply right here in the U.S. Now, we can finally offer this alternative fuel to customers who know and love our popular C2. We cannot wait to see North Kansas City’s buses on the road this school year.”
The C2 CNG buses are powered by the Cummins Westport ISB6.7 G 6.7-liter natural gas engine and an Allision 2000 PTS transmission. The school district said the new buses are expected to increase fuel economy to 8 mpg from 5.6 mpg for diesel. Thomas added that the new buses are certified by the California Air Resources Board and exceed EPA 2013 emissions requirements.
Lon Waterman, transportation director at North Kansas City, said the order is the first step toward converting the entire fleet to CNG.
“We are excited to be the first school district in the country to incorporate Type C compressed natural gas school buses into our fleet,” Waterman added. “We strongly believe in the benefits of compressed natural gas, and we look forward to running a cleaner, greener and more cost-effective fleet.
Thomas added that North Kansas City is financing the bus purchases from Midwest Bus Sales as well as infrastructure and shop improvements through Daimler Truck Financial and is not relying on any grants.
Scott Kincaid, general manager at Midwest Bus Sales, said North Kansas City’s positive experience with CNG transit-style school buses paved the way for embracing conventional CNGs.
“Compressed natural gas has proven to be a promising addition to their fleet and we are very excited that they have chosen Thomas Built Buses as their bus of choice for their CNG conversion,” he added. “It’s a huge step for them and a very exciting one for us.”
In all, North Kansas City purchased 150 new buses, including 14 Type A Minotour small school buses from Thomas.
