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Wisconsin Dealer Promotes Local Propane Deployment

Rick Murphy at Wisconsin Bus Sales wanted to spread the news about one school district’s adoption of propane buses. Working with ROUSH CleanTech and Blue Bird media teams, Murphy provided the contacts and information they needed to write a press release and distribute it to the right sources.

Here is the newsworthy information that was included in the press release:

Over the past two years, North Crawford School District has added Blue Bird propane fueled school buses to its fleet. These buses lower the district’s carbon footprint while reducing transportation costs.

North Crawford School District pays $1.32 per gallon for propane compared with $3.10 for diesel.

Equipped with its exclusive Ford Motor Company’s 6.8L V10 engine, each Blue Bird Vision Propane school bus is powered by a ROUSH CleanTech propane fuel system. To help emissions, the propane engine is certified to California Air Resources Board’s strict low nitrogen oxide (NOx) level of 0.05 grams per brake horsepower – hour, making it 75 percent cleaner than the Environmental Protection Agency’s current emissions standard, and the cleanest propane school bus on the road.

The North Crawford buses, which run regular daily routes, have reduced nitrogen oxide emissions by almost 3,000 pounds and particulate matter by about 65 pounds each year compared with the diesel buses they replaced. Buses fueled by propane virtually eliminate particulate matter when compared with conventional diesel.

The district chose to install an onsite propane station to fuel the buses. The propane company supplied the tank and the school district paid for the cement slab and electrical hook-up. “The district spent a total of $8,000 in fueling infrastructure costs,” Andrews said. He reports that those costs have already been recouped through fuel and maintenance savings.

North Crawford plans to purchase additional propane-fueled bus in the near future.

Here’s a sample of the coverage gained by distributing a press release for this propane adoption:

• WKBT News
• School Transportation News
• Fleet News Daily
• NGT News
• WEAT-TV (NBC affiliate)

If you have a notable and newsworthy propane bus deployment that you’d like to promote, please email Ryan Zic at Ryan.Zic@roush.com for more information.

Dealer Spotlight: Kirkman Bus Sales

Dealer Spotlight: Kirkman Bus Sales

Interviewee: Jason Kirkman

Title: Owner / General Manager

Q. Why do you offer propane school buses to your customers?

A. I’ve been selling propane for many years it’s a reliable powertrain that leads to customer retention and customers become promoters. Having propane also gives us the ability to reach new markets with a new fuel option, which helped us increase our market share in our market.

Q. What has been your most notable propane bus sale so far?

A. Every propane bus sale is valuable no matter the size. But, recently, we had a large order from a loyal propane customer, Pacific Western Transportation, which now makes them the largest single propane deployment in North America. PWT now has over 500 propane buses in their fleet and have been using propane for over six years now.

Q. Why do your customers return to purchase more propane buses?

A. Our customers, like PWT, appreciate propane buses for a number of reasons. They like that you can’t steal propane (like you can with gasoline and diesel vehicles). They don’t worry when winter approaches about cold weather starts. For example, PWT’s buses started in negative 50 degrees Celsius one morning. We’ve also heard reports that driver retention is high — all the drivers LOVE to drive propane buses. Propane buses also have high up-time, which is a major factor, especially for a large fleet like PWT’s.