LoginOregon School Districts Make Case for Propane at STN EXPO West
RENO, Nev. – Two transportation leaders shared how propane school buses have lowered fuel and maintenance costs while improving fleet reliability for their Oregon school districts.
Editor’s note: Blue Bird presented part one of this two-part series in its Green Bus Summit Session that morning, “Slash Your Bus Fuel & Maintenance Budget – Adopt the Right Powertrain.”
Why North Clackamas Chose Propane Over Electric School Buses
Denise Newton, training safety lead for North Clackamas School District in Oregon, said during the July 12 Lunch and Learn session presented by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) that the fuel offered the best path to meet the district’s sustainability goals without disrupting daily operations.
“We live in a state that expects us to be green, and electric would not work for our routes,” Newton shared. “Our buses are running most of the day because we do a lot of shuttles, so that charging time needed for the middle of the day was not available for us. Propane was the natural green energy solution for that.”
Newton praised “the quiet, the structure [and] the drivability” of her 16 current propane buses.
“When we purchase new buses from now on, we will buy propane buses,” she confirmed.
She added that the community strongly supports the district’s decision.
“Our community is thrilled to see us being green,” Newton said. “In Oregon, that’s really important, but it’s even more important for our environment as a philosophy to take care of our community. The more we take care of our air, the better we all breathe.”
How Beaverton School District Lowered Fleet Costs with Propane
Joel Feldheim, operations supervisor for Beaverton School District, said his district began exploring propane after diesel emissions systems increased maintenance demands and created additional work for technicians.
After test-driving a nearby district’s propane bus, Feldheim recalled telling his manager, “I think there’s a lot of advantages between cost, between sustainability and emissions and the reduced load on our techs.”
Today, 65 out of Beaverton’s 310 school buses are propane. Feldheim said the district started with 10 propane buses and temporarily relied on wet fueling before installing its first fueling station. As the propane fleet grew to 40 buses and eventually 65 with 10 more on order, the district added a second fueling location and expanded fuel storage capacity to reduce deadhead miles and support daily operations.
“Yes, you can scale your fueling infrastructure as the presence of propane vehicles in your fleet grows,” Feldheim said.
Feldheim estimated the district now saves roughly $400,000 to $500,000 annually on fuel purchasing.
“It’s been an easy sell to our school board,” he said. “We’ve been able to show financial results when we show, you know, we’ve paid a little bit more for these vehicles, but look at how it’s paying off year after year.”
He added that propane’s stable fuel prices have also made annual budgeting more predictable than diesel.
Propane Improves Fleet Reliability and Reduces Maintenance
Newton said propane buses have required little unscheduled maintenance and noted how reliable buses also help retain school bus drivers.
“The highest cost that a department has is the cost of losing their staff,” she said. “If you are keeping your people happy, that is huge.”
“Total cost of ownership of our propane vehicles is significantly lower than our diesel vehicles,” Feldheim confirmed “Our technicians love our propane vehicles.”
He added that propane buses have also outperformed the district’s electric buses for reliability.
“We’ve seen significantly more downtime in our electric vehicles than our propane vehicles,” Feldheim noted. “Our oldest propane vehicles are entering their ninth year of service.”
Feldheim also said propane buses have reduced maintenance demands by eliminating many of the emissions-related components technicians regularly service on diesel buses, allowing more vehicles to stay in service throughout the school year.
Both transportation leaders said that installing on-site propane fueling simplified daily operations and gives the department greater flexibility
Newton noted drivers can fuel buses before athletic trips or other assignments without depending on overnight fueling.
“Your driver can just fill up any time they want,” Feldheim agreed. “Having the flexibility to say, ‘I’m going to do a late run tonight, I just need to top off a little bit before I go out’ Is really helpful.”
Both transportation leaders also said driver training played an important role during implementation. Because many Oregon drivers have little experience fueling their own vehicles, each district incorporated propane fueling into new-driver training and provided additional support until drivers became comfortable with the process.
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Related: Webinar Discusses Impact of Propane School Buses on Costs, Health and Maintenance
Planning Propane Infrastructure Starts with the Right Partner
Newton said choosing the right fuel supplier proved critical during the district’s propane implementation, which involved a lengthy permitting process. She said partnering closely with Blue Star Gas helped the district complete the project and transition from wet fueling to on-site fueling, which simplified daily operations.
“Don’t wait,” Newton urged. “Go and meet your suppliers and get them helping you.”
Feldheim agreed, saying suppliers can reduce much of the workload associated with installing fueling infrastructure.
“You’re all very busy running other things,” he said. “Your supplier will partner with you and really solve a lot of problems for you.”
Cameron Ingle, autogas fleet specialist for Blue Star Gas, encouraged districts to begin infrastructure planning during the earliest stages of evaluating propane buses.
“As early as you kind of know what you are looking for and you are starting the process in the exploratory phase, definitely reach out to your marketers,” Ingle said.
Mario Genovese, director of customer success for ROUSH CleanTech, confirmed that long-term technical support remains just as important after buses enter service.
“Our mission truly is to make sure that our customers are successful with their deployment of propane once they accept the technology,” he said. “We’re here to help support you guys for the long term.”
This article was written with the assistance of AI from a live transcript.
The post Oregon School Districts Make Case for Propane at STN EXPO West appeared first on School Transportation News.
