It's a new year, that means adjusting habits and making changes to our daily lives. Is there a better resolution to make than that of resolving to do your part to clean up the environment while saving some money? By using propane as the preferred engine fuel for your fleet you can do just that! 

School Transportation News recently surveyed school bus manufacturers about their November 2016 through October 2017 production cycle. The results were printed in the recently published, School Transportation News 2018 Buyer's Guide and stated that school bus production increased 6.5% over the previous year. Although production increased, the vast majority of these new school buses will run on diesel despite the push to clean up our air quality and clear out buses that emit particulate matter from their tailpipe. Buses running on gasoline came in second with regards to amount produced, with propane buses being third. Just 2,750 buses produced out of the approximately 46,000 will run on propane. 

Franklin County Schools in Alabama has made the commitment in the new year to operate propane-powered school buses to assist in the betterment of their local environment as well as to lower their overall operational costs. This year the district will receive 44 propane-powered school buses while children are out of school for the summer and they will be operational by the time the new school year starts in the fall of 2018, according to an article published by LPGas Magazine. The order for these cleaner buses will be fulfilled by IC Bus, whose CE series with a PSI propane engine will provide similar torque to a diesel bus while increasing the bus' hill climbing abilities and improving the startability. These buses will also show a reduction in noise levels, engine wear, oil use, and maintenance. Assistant superintendent of Franklin County Schools, Donald Borden, is quoted in the article as saying that these buses will "improve (the) community environmentally while also reducing (the district's) operating costs." 

Vehicle manufacturers are ready to put school districts and white fleets on the road in whatever vehicle best fits the needs of the fleet. ARRO Autogas can help you with current funding opportunities to offset costs. Make cleaner air, cost savings, and efficiency part of your fleet's new year resolution by choosing to power with PROPANE. 

The ABC's of PROPANE:

 Abundant: 90% of all propane consumed in the United States is produced in North America. Using propane as an engine fuel reduces our dependence on foreign oil and maintains domestic jobs for those who produce and transport the fuel. 

Better for the environment: When you compare propane with its traditional fuel counterparts, propane produces less environmentally harmful gases out of the tailpipe. Switching to propane autogas results in an estimated 80% reduction in smog producing hydrocarbon emissions when compared to diesel vehicles, according to the Propane Education and Research Council. 

Cost effective: As Franklin County Schools will soon find out, propane engines do not require additional filters or fluids like diesel engines do thus lowering your maintenance costs. Also, you will typically find that propane costs less per gallon than diesel and incorporating state and federal tax credits offered to alternative fuel vehicles you will see a significant reduction in your overall total cost of ownership on a propane vehicle.