Los Angeles Unified School District is increasing the size of its CNG fleet with the purchase of 71 new Saf-T-Liner C2 CNG school buses this winter from Thomas Built Buses.
Yi-Hwa Kim, LAUSD’s deputy director of transportation, said the district’s CNG fleet will increase in size to 600 vehicles, which represents 46 percent of the 1,300 total buses that LAUSD owns and operates. It’s also the largest fleet of CNG-powered school buses in the U.S.
LAUSD operates three CNG fueling stations for its four bus lots and six garages.
“Together, Thomas Built Buses and LA Unified are making history,” said Caley Edgerly, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, in a statement on Tuesday. “LA Unified has made great strides over the past few years by incorporating alternative fueled vehicles into their fleet. The addition of Thomas Built’s Saf-T-Liner C2 CNG school buses paves the way for other school districts to deploy Type C CNG buses into their own fleets. LA Unified trusts CNG, and we are proud that they’ve chosen Thomas Built Buses as their supplier.”
According to Thomas Built Buses, the C2 CNG buses feature the Cummins Westport ISB6.7 G 6.7 liter, natural-gas engine and an Allison 2000 series transmission. They are California Air Resources Board-certified, meet the CARB optional low oxides of nitrogen (NOx) standard of 0.1g/bhp-hr and meet 2016 EPA emissions and 2017 EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) requirements.
The company added that the C2 CNGs offer improved driver ergonomics and maneuverability, along with increased visibility, safety and durability.
Kim said LAUSD will continue to replace older diesel school buses with alternative-fuel vehicles, the specific fuel choice depending on grant funding restrictions and/or fueling infrastructure.
The district also owns and operates 141 propane-powered and 100 ULEV gasoline-powered school buses. In all, the 841 alternative-fueled buses represents 65 percent of the district-owned and operated fleets. Contractors own and operate another 600 buses, and Kim said LAUSD also requires those vendors to only purchase alt-fuel school buses.
In all, LAUSD transports about 40,500 students each day in special education, integration and No Child Left Behind programs, as well as students with hazardous walking routes to their local campuses.
