Propane Autogas: Another Kind of Grand Slam
Summer is in high gear, and like for many of you the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are highlights that bring back great childhood memories. Our national pastime is also a symbol of our freedom, and one of many great traditions we are fortunate enough to enjoy.
While a young rookie put on quite a show yesterday at the Home Run Derby, our team was at the STN Expo discussing a seasoned veteran — propane autogas. We’re in Reno, Nevada, at the largest school bus transportation show in the country fielding questions about the emergence of propane autogas as the preferred fuel for student transportation.
According to the Propane Education & Research Council, propane autogas school buses transport more than 700,000 students, and now make up about 45 percent of all non-diesel school buses used for pupil transportation.
Of those, almost 700 public and private school systems across North America operate Blue Bird buses equipped with ROUSH CleanTech propane fuel systems. These school districts are cutting the strings from foreign oil by adopting propane buses into their everyday operations and the results are staggering.
- Nebraska’s Omaha Public Schools reports its propane bus fleet generated enough savings to hire up to five additional classroom teachers.
- South Carolina Department of Education is saving 29 cents per mile fueling with propane autogas compared to diesel.
- Bend-La Pine School District in Oregon pays 57 percent less for propane compared to diesel.
- Florida’s Broward County has reported saving 38 cents per mile — or more than $600,000 annually in total operating costs — by adopting propane buses.
- And the list goes on.
More than 90 percent of our country’s propane autogas supply is produced domestically with another 7 percent coming from Canada. The United States produces more than 21 billion gallons of propane, yet we only use 9 billion gallons for home heating, material handling, cooking and transportation.
When you couple the abundant supply of this domestic energy source, significant operational cost savings, and recently announced industry-leading .05g NOx 6.8L V10 3V propane engine, we’re confident that this is another Grand Slam that should be further leveraged to lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources.
Give us a call today at 800-59-ROUSH if you would like to know more about this All-Star fuel.
Enjoy the summer days, and talk to you in August.
Sincerely,
Todd Mouw
