Lion Bus and NGV Motori presented their new Type C school bus powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) at the ACT Expo in Dallas earlier this month.
“Over the past years, our customers have often requested an OEM CNG solution school bus to complement our well known CNG conversion packages,” said Fury Zaidi, president of NGV Motori “By teaming with the unique qualities of Lion Bus, we believe we have found a partner who will carry the legacy of Motori’s 30 plus years of excellence worldwide effectively to the American school bus marketplace, serving an obvious need in the evolving field of clean energy student transportation.”
“We are pleased to add the NGV Motori International DT466 CNG engine to our growing offerings in the clean energy field. Lion is quickly becoming seen not only for its alternative energy school bus options, but for its industry-leading features that result in Lion’s Type C reputation for the lowest overall cost of ownership for America’s school bus operators,” said Marc Bedard, president of Lion Bus.
Zaidi shared with STN that the project had been in development for a few years, with the engine and EPA certification process starting about two years ago, adding that the choice to partner with Lion Bus based on the company’s unique offerings.
“There were a lot of factors that we considered before we made a decision to partner with Lion,” he explained, “They had the best reputation. They had the best bus for what we needed. We needed certain characteristics in the bus. They have a composite body, which was very good. The main reason we decided to go with Lion bus is because that bus is six inches wider.”
Bedard said that orders for the new CNG bus are now being accepted, and Zaidi confirmed that these orders have a projected delivery date of September 2015.
Zaidi also said that as of day after the presentation at the ACT Expo, there were RFPs for a total of 144 buses from two different school districts in Texas.
