ROUSH CleanTech will offer a Ford F-650 medium-duty truck that’s powered solely by a battery-electric powertrain, the vehicle modifier has announced. With the move, the company expands its alternative fuel offerings to include zero-emission electric vehicles. ROUSH CleanTech has been converting trucks and vans to run on alternative fuels such as propane autogas and compressed natural gas.
Many of today’s home and office (HOD) delivery truck drive soother, sound quieter, require less maintenance, and are more environmentally friendly than in years past. More are using alternative fuels that release fewer emissions than diesel and gasoline-powered trucks. Some bottled water companies are turning to propane-powered vehicles to make their daily deliveries.
You are probably aware of people fueling vehicles with gasoline or diesel, but propane is starting to be used for more than just heating your home. Since buying their first propane school bus in 2016 the alternative fuel replaces three out of the North Crawford School District’s five buses. “And we do have plans to hopefully buy a fourth one in the coming year or two,” North Crawford School District Business Manager Demetri Andrews explains. Andrews says potential savings of propane initially drew him in.
In 2017, Blue Bird delivered its milestone 10,000th propane autogas school bus.
With a prolonged period of stable diesel fuel prices and new competition emerging from electric vehicles, “we’ve got to go back out and spark it again,” Lindsay said. There are several new tools at the disposal of the natural gas industry that could make that effort successful.
In celebration of Earth Day, Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) is showcasing its sustainability practices, green projects, and the groundbreaking of a new solar/wind generation farm. PUSD will display two newly-purchased all-electric school busses, its new propane powered bus fleet, electric charging stations, school garden program, student projects, and will be joined by community partners who support the District’s sustainability practices.
Recent arguments for clean diesel are raising questions over the validity of propane autogas as an outstanding choice for school buses. This type of over-simplified information is being widely broadcast. But comprehensive, evidence-based reasoning is what school districts require to make important decisions. School administrators need truth-telling, not storytelling.
In this 1-hour webinar, Ryan Zic presents on the benefits of running propane-powered school buses. He also discusses the partnership with Ford and Blue Bird that ROUSH CleanTech has formed and how it benefits every customer who purchases a propane school bus.
And the Q2 Winners are …
Sold a propane bus lately? Then you could be a winner! We held our second quarterly drawing for four $250 Visa gift cards. For those of you who sold a propane school bus this fiscal year, you’ve been entered to win quarterly prizes as well as the grand prize — a ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang valued at more than $60,000.
And the Q2 winners are…
- Shooter Roberts, Yancey Bus Sales and Service, Paulding County Schools
- Paul Fiereck, North Central Bus & Equipment, Minneapolis Public Schools
- Ken Koenig, Robert H. Hoover & Sons, Inc., Toms River Regional Board of Education
- Paul Dow, Blanchard Bus Centers, South Carolina Department of Education
WINNERS: Please reach out to your ROUSH CleanTech alternative fuel sales representative to claim your prize.
Not familiar with the contest? The grand prize is a ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang valued at more than $60,000. For every propane bus you sell starting on November 20, 2017, you automatically earn one entry to win. So far this fiscal year, over 700 propane school buses have been sold.
Remember that the more propane buses you sell, the more entries you gain, increasing your odds to take home this iconic muscle car. One salesperson entry will be chosen at random at the end of Blue Bird’s fiscal year 2018, and the lucky winner will take delivery of the Mustang at the 2018 annual dealer meeting.
We’re also offering giveaways throughout the year to reward your propane bus sales efforts. As previously mentioned, we’ll pick four winners each quarter to receive a $250 gift card.
Good luck, and let’s sell propane buses!
If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Ryan Zic at Ryan.Zic@roush.com.
Volkswagen Update: April 2018
It’s been a few months since the Environmental Mitigation Trust beneficiaries were approved. Most of these state beneficiaries are still developing their plans and are still accepting comments. We are getting down to the finish line for making the case for propane school bus funding. So, if you haven’t reached out to your representative, now is the time.
Here is a summary of the status of each state’s Beneficiary Mitigation Plan.
Five states have final plans:
- Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Nebraska and Nevada
19 states have draft plans:
- Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont and Washington
28 states are still developing their plans and are accepting comments:
- Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming
You can find a complete listing of each state’s lead agency, mitigation plan status and filing deadlines here. This document also contains the dates of upcoming public hearings and meetings.
If your state falls into either of the last two categories, please contact Chelsea Jenkins at Chelsea.Jenkins@roush.com to discuss how best to approach your state agencies. We don’t want to miss this opportunity to get more funding for propane school buses!
Recent Comments