Baseball, Apple Pie and… Public Transit
Nothing is more American than baseball, apple pie and the freedom to hop in a vehicle and go on a trip.
One of the facilitators of our ability to come and go freely is our public transportation system. According to APTA, American’s took more than 10 billion trips in 2017 and that public transit is a $68 billion industry that employs more than 420,000 people. This is the good news. The bad news is more than 45 percent of Americans don’t have access to public transportation. As funding for local transit-related initiatives appears on ballots in your community, make sure you support with a “yes” vote.
The reality is investment in public transit drives economic growth in your community. Whether it’s more jobs, more revenue to local businesses, or even higher home values, all of the facts support that a region with a robust public transit system is far better off than one without.
Related to our world of alternative fuels, public transportation helped reduce gasoline consumption by more than 4.2 billion gallons in 2017. The leadership in public transit are constantly looking for ways to further improve service, reduce cost and lessen the environmental impact in their community. One approach is to adopt propane autogas vehicles for their paratransit fleets.
More than 19,000 buses, trucks and vans equipped with the ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas fuel system have been deployed across the U.S. and Canada. Of those, more than 1,500 operate in the transit industry, with the majority being for paratransit use.
With significantly lower operating costs, propane autogas vehicles help agencies stretch their dollars further. Historically, propane autogas costs about 40 percent less than gasoline and 50 percent less than diesel per gallon, and reduces maintenance costs due to its clean-burning properties. Operating on propane autogas instead of diesel removes the complexity and cost of after-treatment measures. It all adds up to faster return on investment
Propane autogas vehicles also are easier on the environment. According to a University of California Riverside study, diesel-fueled medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are the primary source of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in almost every single metropolitan region in the United States. Propane autogas is naturally much lower in NOx than diesel and gasoline. These vehicles emit 80 percent fewer smog-producing hydrocarbons and virtually eliminate particulate matter when compared to conventional diesel-powered vehicles.
And, propane autogas is domestically produced. More than 90 percent of the nation’s supply is made in the U.S., with an additional 7 percent imported from Canada.
Our vote is for more vehicles fueled by this American-made product. Give us a call today at 800.59.ROUSH to learn more.
