District Spotlight
Newport News Public Schools has been operating Blue Bird Vision Propane buses since 2017. The recent delivery of 18 new buses marked a milestone — Blue Bird’s 15,000th propane bus! This accomplishment was celebrated during an event at the district’s new transportation facility.
NNPS operates a fleet of 335 buses of which 62 are fueled by propane. The district has run propane buses for two years and will add 11 more by the end of 2019. School district and school bus contractor use of propane school buses has increased 800 percent in the last seven years, according to the Propane Education & Research Council.
According to Brian Hanna, maintenance manager for NNPS, the district has saved $800 on oil changes alone with each of its propane buses compared to its diesel buses. And, he said that propane buses cost less to fuel, as well, about 80 cents less per gallon.
To accommodate its growing propane fleet, the district installed a second propane station that can fuel two buses at once. Its original fuel infrastructure will be used at a smaller onsite bus lot.
Like many other school districts, Newport News did its homework before purchasing propane buses, ensuring it had an onsite infrastructure set up and taking advantage of training offered by both of our companies, Blue Bird and ROUSH CleanTech.
