School Districts Replace Diesel Buses with Propane, Electric

July 14, 2024

RENO, Nev. — A Sunday lunch and learn session at STN EXPO Reno was filled with transportation staff learning how both propane and electric school buses are being used to replace older, polluting diesel buses.

“We believe every community should have access to clean, safe school bus transportation,” stated David Walters, director of autogas business development for session sponsor, the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). He reviewed the $3.8 billion in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program funding that has been awarded so far and noted that the money goes farther when purchasing propane buses compared to more expensive electric school buses (ESBs).

Steven Whaley, alternative fuels manager for Blue Bird, promoted a multifaced solution to displacing the many older diesel school buses on the road. He noted that California Air Resources Board regulations will become 75 percent harder for diesel buses to meet by 2027. “Diesel is getting squeezed out of existence,” he forecasted.

Whaley shared that Blue Bird’s propane buses are being used in about a third of the 100 largest school districts in the U.S., while ESBs are running in 41 states. He added that infrastructure is what makes or breaks a clean fuel school bus operation that is looking to phase out diesel. Blue Bird is currently the only propane player in the game, at least for the near future, as Cummins recently announced it won’t be pursuing a propane school bus engine at this time.

Whaley noted the ways in which propane is cleaner, cheaper and just as accessible as diesel, providing an easier way for districts to make the switch. PERC’s portable propane and electric charging solution is another tool for greening a fleet. This helps achieve the goal of keeping a fleet sustainable as it grows, Whaley said.

He also shared the story of Township High School District 211 in Palatine, Illinois, which switched its special needs route buses to propane, resulting in the students arriving at school much calmer and ready to learn.

Transportation Director Kerry Duskin, Th.D., shared that Roosevelt School District in Phoenix, Arizona was working on its diesel replacement cycle when it received Volkswagen Mitigation Trust funding in 2019. The district currently has 15 propane buses.

Duskin said the infrastructure was “very easy” to build in partnership with AmeriGas, which comes in to refill their fuel tank twice a week. He said his drivers initially preferred the district’s Type D diesel buses and disliked the new Type C propane buses. However, as they started driving the propane buses, they have come to prefer them.

The district is also implementing two electric buses with charging infrastructure via a partnership with a nearby high school district. Due to power limitations, Roosevelt SD has been working for years with its utility to make a plan to utilize the ESBs. Duskin strongly advised working with the local utility first. “You don’t want to have buses that you can’t charge or use – it’s not a good look,” he said.

Training and patience are necessary when making a switch to buses of different styles or fuels, Duskin cautioned.

Beaverton School District is Oregon’s largest district-owned school bus operation in the state. The district transports over 25,000 students per day, with its 320 buses traveling over 3 million miles per year. In 2021, Beaverton became the first school district in Oregon to implement electric school buses. It recently ordered 50 electric buses to replace 50 diesels, using $19.75 million awarded by the EPA Clean School Bus Program.

Currently, 25 electric buses supported by 31 chargers run daily routes. Ninety electric buses are expected to be in service by next summer. The remainder of the fleet is powered by renewable diesel and renewable propane, which were funded by Diesel Emission Reduction Act and Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund monies.

Craig Beaver, Beaverton’s administrator for transportation, said these fuels saved him money through fuel credits and state programs. He said he gets around 90 miles per ESB and uses propane buses for longer routes. Citing driver complaints about the fumes from diesel buses, he confirmed he will be replacing them with propane buses, especially on special needs routes. He expressed appreciation for propane’s cleanliness, quietness, affordability, and ease of infrastructure implementation.

Duskin added that his ESBs have not needed maintenance yet. He and Beaver agreed that maintenance on propane buses is easier than on diesel buses due to no DEF or DPF treatment needed.

Beaver said that electrical permitting for ESB infrastructure is a slower process, but he usually had no issues getting fuel tanks or a portable “wet hose” mobile fueling solution brought on site for propane buses. Duskin also advised contacting the propane provider for issues such as a broken hose which should be easily fixed.

Whaley shared the testimony of St. Louis County Schools in Minnesota, which is successfully running propane buses in negative 41 degree weather, including starting them up easily after a weekend of unuse.

For districts in states like Oregon where California Air Resources Board standards are in effect, Beaver noted that propane is a viable option for smaller districts or ones that cannot afford electric buses.

“It’s going to take every energy source to make this happen,” agreed Whaley, referring to clean energy goals.

“I think propane and electric will work hand-in-hand,” Beaver concurred.