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Austintown introduces new propane buses
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One of the new buses is displayed at an open house on the Austintown Local School District campus Thursday. Fourteen new propane-fueled buses will service the district’s longer routes when the 2014-15 academic year begins Monday.
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
School officials joined with members of the propane-fuel industry to showcase 14 new buses for the district.
The event took place at the transportation garage on the Austintown Local School District campus, behind Austintown Intermediate and Fitch High schools.
Representatives from the schools’ transportation department talked about the new buses as did representatives from Youngstown Propane, providing the fuel to run the buses; Cardinal Bus, which partnered with Roush Engines; and Clean Fuels Ohio, a nonprofit group focused on clean energy. State Rep. Ronald V. Gerberry of Austintown, D-59th, also attended.
Austintown schools received a grant of about $1.3 million through the Ohio Environmental Protective Agency Diesel Reduction program to purchase 14 buses for this school year. Those buses were purchased through Cardinal Bus, based in Lima.
Colleen Murphy-Penk, Austintown schools director of transportation, said the district swapped 14 inoperable diesel buses for the 14 new buses.
“It’s economical, it’s environmental, it’s safe and it’s domestic. It’s not a win, win — it’s a win across four major categories,” Andrew Conley, program director of Clean Fuels Ohio, said of the new buses. Conley spoke about the benefits of switching to a propane-fuel system from a diesel system. For example, propane is $1.90 a gallon versus diesel at $3.43 a gallon, and 98 percent of propane is American-made through natural gas processing, Conley said.
Conley said these buses will help the fleet reduce its nitrogen oxide output, or smog, by 38 percent; particulate matter, the black soot, by 36.4 percent; hydrocarbon emissions, which affect youth and elderly respiratory systems, by 7.3 percent; and carbon dioxide by 6.1 percent.
He said this is the first propane-fueled school fleet in Mahoning County.
Murphy-Penk also said the buses will run quieter and will be used on the longer routes in the district. Overall, the district has 51 buses in its fleet.
Mike McCoun, a salesman with Bergquist Inc. based in Toledo, gave a presentation on how the fueling works since the fueling station for propane has yet to be installed in the transportation area. Bob Jones, president of Youngstown Propane, said that will happen in a few weeks.
McCoun showed how the system works. “Once people actually have the opportunity to use them, you have drivers fighting over who is going to be assigned that new technology vehicle,” Conley said.
Classes in Austintown start Monday.