Blue Bird Corp. says two Wisconsin-based companies that provide transportation services to school districts, Lamers Bus Lines and Badger Bus, have added propane-powered Blue Bird Vision school buses to their fleet.
Lamers' latest deployment includes 41 of the full-size school buses, all of which feature Blue Bird's extended-range 100-gallon propane autogas tank. These vehicles will serve Milwaukee Public Schools and each travel about 9,000 miles per year. Lamers already had 18 propane vehicles in operation, and the growing alt-fuel fleets has necessitated the installation of on-site autogas refueling infrastructure, including 30,000 gallons of fuel storage.
‘Our propane buses have been completely trouble-free,’ says Allen Lamers, president of Lamers Bus Lines. ‘We've had no issues whatsoever on them, and the deployment has been smooth. From all aspects, the buses are logical, simple and require minimal adaptation. Propane autogas is a great option for school buses, and we couldn't be more pleased with our fleet.’
Badger Bus, which has operating propane autogas school buses for two years, will soon receive another 16 propane-powered Vision buses, expanding its total propane fleet to 20. The new propane buses will be used to transport students in the Madison Metropolitan School District.
The company notes that it is currently paying $1.19 per gallon for propane autogas, using on-site equipment to fuel the fleet.
All of these Vision buses are equipped with ROUSH CleanTech's propane autogas fuel system and Ford's 6.8-liter engine.