November 2017

On Tuesday, the national nonprofit Propane Education & Research Council surprised teachers at Sierra Enterprise Elementary School in California with a $5,000 donation in recognition of Elk Grove Unified School District’s (EGUSD) efforts to maintain good stewardship of its economic and environmental resources by adding propane buses to its school transportation fleet. The donation is part of PERC’s nationwide campaign to educate parents, teachers, and school officials about the benefits of using an alternative fuel like propane.

Todd Mouw currently serves as vice president of sales and marketing at ROUSH CleanTech, a Livonia, Michigan, company that helps commercial fleets convert their vehicles to run on propane autogas.  Mouw spends much of his time attending events and explaining how autogas makes the most economic and environmental sense for fleets. And in a decade of work, he has seen significant progress in the number of markets and fleets capitalizing on the benefits of propane autogas.  Mouw recently spoke with LP Gas Editor-in-Chief Brian Richesson about the inroads autogas is making, as well as the challenges that remain in the market.

School districts around the U.S. are proudly making the switch to propane autogas school buses. Why? On top of offering the lowest total cost-of-ownership and reducing harmful emissions around students, drivers, and technicians, propane autogas buses operate noticeably quieter than diesel buses.

States will soon have access to a windfall of funds from the Volkswagen settlement, which includes a $2.9 billion Environmental Mitigation Trust. These are funds that transit agencies, school districts and other businesses could potentially use to purchase propane autogas-fueled vehicles.

Local school districts may replace dirty diesel buses faster than anticipated with the help of federal grants and state funding, providing a measurable improvement in air quality.  Some of the 145 school buses that transport kids in both Cache County and Logan City school districts are 25 years old. Transportation Supervisor Wayne Reese, who oversees the coordinated school bus service, said replacing these buses with newer models means cleaner air and cost savings over the life of the vehicles.