TMCnet News
Deming Public Schools look to propane busesDec 23, 2010 (The Deming Headlight - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The initial expense is higher, but the long-term savings and benefits outweigh that expense. Ray Trejo, Deming School's Transportation Director, was looking Thursday at a propane-powered Blue Bird school bus. He didn't have to kick the tires. He liked what he saw and what he was hearing from Jess Segura, of Tillery Bus Sales in Moriarty. The propane Blue Bird sells for $90,000 to $91,000 against an $85,000 price on a diesel-powered bus, but propane fuel is about $1.50 a gallon to maybe $3.18 and adjusted daily on diesel. There's a 50-cent tax credit per gallon on propane fuel. There's a current federal tax credit of $11,000 per vehicle for a propane bus. "Less oil," Segura says of the propane model. Engine service is less expensive. Gas is expensive. The full size model seats 71, although 41-seaters are available through Blue Bird, in Georgia. Blue Bird has corned the market on school buses. "A 12-year replacement cycle," Segura says of the propane bus' life. "One of the things I get asked is, 'Where do I get fuel?' "Ferrell Oil will put in a filling station on site at no cost, providing a district buys from them for three years or so." The bus has a GM 8.1 motor -- a 5-2 cubic inch engine. "There are hundreds of these running in Texas," says Segura. The fact is, El Paso Schools just ordered 100. In California, Segura says, buses being taken out of school fleets can't be replaced with diesel buses, because of the state's emission controls. It exceeds, he says, what will be required in emission controls in 2017 or so. "There's no loss in horsepower," Segura says, mentioning he was able to do 60 miles an hour through a mountain pass. Deming doesn't have that kind of terrain, but athletic teams and other extra-curricular programs have students traveling to areas that do. "Our next bus replacement will be propane," Trejo says as he looks at Tillery's demonstration model. "We do have a couple of replacements coming up. The state pretty much buys for us." And for contractors, too, on a 5-year repayment plan. A diesel bus averages 6 1/2 to 8 1/2 miles pre gallon, while the propane gets 6 1/2 miles per gallon on the highway, and about 5.4 miles per gallon on a route with stop-and-go traffic. But, again, there's that savings on cost of fuel. The propane engine is much quieter than the diesel and there's no choking odor from the exhaust pipe, as with diesel. Kevin Buey can be reached at [email protected] To see more of The Deming Headlight, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.demingheadlight.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Deming Headlight, N.M. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |