Georgetown Independent School District (GISD) in Texas is purchasing 33 new school buses to replace its aging diesel fleet with propane-powered vehicles, reported Kxan.
The district says the new school buses will be less expensive to operate and will cut emissions substantially, Kxan reported.
The district will reportedly save $75,000 a year in fuel costs by converting part of its fleet to propane. The district will be using grant funding from different programs under the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and bond funding that was approved by voters last fall for new school buses. A total of $1.3 million will be used for the new school buses.
The Texas Clean Fleet Program and the Texas Natural Gas Vehicle Grants are helping fund the propane buses. Also assisting is the Texas Clean School Bus program, which is replacing five more buses with cleaner diesel engines.
GISD will still have to come up with $300,000 to fund a propane fueling station. However, the director of support services said he hopes to use some of the grant or bond money to buy it, Kxan reported.
GISD is expecting to have a quarter of its fleets be propane-powered by November.
