FRISCO, Texas — Attendees heard about the health, monetary and operational benefits of propane autogas school buses in a Friday session during the Transporting Students with Special Needs and Disabilities Conference.
“What did you do differently, and how did you do it?” This was the question asked of Diana Mikelski, director of transportation for District 211 in Illinois, after she transported students with special needs to school in a propane-powered school bus rather than a diesel one. During the Friday session, sponsored by Blue Bird and the Propane Education & Research Council, she shared that educators were impressed with how calm, quiet and ready to learn the students were when they arrived at school.
She shared that her drivers also benefit from the cleaner air when loading and unloading students. Furthermore, both drivers and aides can hear and speak to students onboard without shouting. When the special needs propane bus was replaced with a diesel one during repairs, a parent noted that his child much preferred the quieter propane.
Steven Whaley, a Blue Bird alternative fuels manager, noted that noise and temperature considerations may be part of some students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Mikelski confirmed that both aspects could be much better managed on a propane bus.
In addition to students on special needs routes, those on general education routes also profit from the quiet, clean propane buses, Mikelski added. “I’m glad they can all enjoy these benefits,” she said.
“It’s also helping staff as well,” she said. Now her drivers prefer driving the propane buses, with some noticing fewer health symptoms. The rumbling noises and fuel smells are missing with propane buses as well, leading to community approval.
Mikelski said she had good buy-in with her mechanics due to all the work involved with diesel buses. “It’s a learning curve but once they knew it, they loved it,” she declared. The district doesn’t go through parts as fast and her budget has improved, she shared.
“We are constantly saving with propane,” she said.
Implementing Propane
Whaley reviewed Blue Bird’s current offerings of diesel, gasoline, propane and electric school buses as well as how they measure up to the continuously tightening California Air Resources Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards.
For those districts that may struggle with electrification, he proposed propane solutions as that fuel is safe, clean, easily accessible and good in cold weather. He shared stats from Anthony Jackson, transportation director for Bibb County School District in Georgia, showing that propane is about the same as diesel in cost per mile.
Tom Hopkins, business development manager for Blue Bird energy partner ROUSH CleanTech, explained that despite the current abundance of EV funding, districts should consider whether they can acquire, run, and train staff to operate those buses if said funding should wane.
Considering everything required of a school bus operation, Hopkins said that propane provided a relatively easy and cost-effective option to swap to. He noted that propane buses are about half as noisy as diesel buses, providing a “cleaner, healthier, safer ride to school.”
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Brian Raygor, national autogas business manager for propane provider Ferrellgas, addressed the scalability of propane autogas refueling infrastructure. There are permanent, temporary and mobile configurations.
He reviewed some options that the School District of Philadelphia had taken advantage of when it added 38 propane-powered school buses to its fleet on October 24.
“We can build the stations to meet your needs,” he declared.
Regarding contingencies, Raygor reviewed a rapid repair and mobile fueling solution that was put in place to assist Kansas City Schools when a school bus propane pump went down. Whaley advised districts to utilize the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator so they will have fuel when needed.
