No matter the locale — rural or urban — transit and paratransit vehicles utilizing alternative fuels have to be ready for anything in Michigan’s diverse terrain.
Urban applications often deal with limited space for fueling, while rural applications have plenty of space, but some drivers deal with range anxiety when it comes to fuels other than gasoline and diesel.
Over the last few months, I have been asked frequently about how the Trump administration’s energy priorities might affect the propane industry. An embrace of nuclear, natural gas and natural gas liquids — including propane — is a positive sign, but the question remains: What about renewable propane? With increasing attention paid to its conventional twin, will it sustain the momentum it has built over the past five years? I believe the answer is yes.
Our team just returned from an informative and productive weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the National Propane Gas Association’s Southeast Propane Expo. It was a pleasure to spend quality time with our propane industry friends and partners, and I want to share some of the key takeaways from the weekend with you.
We caught up with Todd Mouw from ROUSH CleanTech during NTEA’s Work Truck Week 2025 to talk about the evolving fuel conversation in the fleet space. From the early push for natural gas to the electric wave and now a more uncertain future — ROUSH continues to lead with a common-sense approach.
In recent years, electric school buses have dominated the conversation as the only path to sustainable student transportation. Electrification will continue to play a big role in how we transform our transportation system, but we believe that it is not a silver bullet. There are other technologies and domestic energy choices that reduce harmful emissions and operational costs.
In recent years, electric school buses have dominated the conversation as the only path to sustainable student transportation. Electrification will continue to play a big role in how we transform our transportation system, but we believe that it is not a silver bullet. There are other technologies and domestic energy choices that reduce harmful emissions and operational costs.
This isn’t to say that electric buses don’t have their place, but a “one size fits all” approach is flawed. EV technology and infrastructure are a long way from being commercially viable without the help of significant federal and state incentives.
The Rapid, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has seen good results from its 62 Ford E-450 propane buses equipped with ROUSH CleanTech systems.
Currently, more than 75% of The Rapid’s paratransit fleet runs on propane, with its propane buses traveling over 1.8 million miles in 2024. These propane buses have seen a 118% fuel savings per gallon, which has allowed the company to tap into federal and private funding to cover the capital costs.
For decades, propane autogas has been helping fleet owners cut their emissions without compromising reliability and profitability. Innovations like propane-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and renewable propane are helping EV and propane autogas fleets alike meet increasingly stringent emissions standards while keeping costs low and reliability high.
One of the largest fleets traversing U.S. roadways takes kids to and from school each day.
About half-a-million school buses hit the road early every weekday morning, return to the bus yard, maybe make some mid-day runs for extracurricular activities or field trips and head out again in the afternoon to ferry students home.
It was great seeing many of you last week at NTEA’s Work Truck Week in Indianapolis. I’m sure those who attended can agree that the keynote speech given by Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) left quite a mark. With the NCAA’s March Madness around the corner, hearing from him felt more than appropriately timed.
