School district snuffs out propane buses

By Sharon K. Hughes

San Antonio Express-News

06/11/2003 2:26 PM

Northside School District is phasing out its nationally recognized, clean-burning propane bus program, a defection that does not bode well for efforts to get school districts across the state and country to abandon their dirtier diesel engines.

"Northside ISD has been our poster child for propane," said John Quebe, a local representative for the national Clean Cities program. "I frankly can’t go talk to another school district and encourage them to look at propane while Northside, the poster child, is getting out."

Propane engines produce less smog, greenhouse gas and particulate matter, government and industry officials say. Propane buses are also cheaper to maintain because the cleaner burning fuel creates less wear on the vehicle, Northside officials said.

Propane, a byproduct of natural gas and oil production, is the most widely used alternative fuel in the world, according to industry officials. In Texas, 35 school districts use propane to power about 1,600 buses, according to the Texas Railroad Commission.

"In Texas, when we talk about alternative fuel, we talk about propane," Commission Chairman Michael Williams said. The commission has paid out $285,000 in rebates to districts since 2001 to pay for conversions to propane engines, Williams said.

Almost all of Northside's 523 buses run on propane, transporting half of the district's 69,000 students. Northside buses log 7 million miles a year.

"We really don't want to go away from this program," said Al Rath, Northside's director of trasportation. But the large buses that Northside needs aren't available in an engine that can be converted to propane.

General Motors has stopped making the engines that can be converted to propane for the largest school buses – the size Northside needs. And the district isn’t alone. Alvin School District, outside Houston, has used propane buses for 23 years, but it also bought diesel this year.

Dallas County Schools, another big user of propane, will continue to buy and retrofit the small buses, which are still available. The organization, which provides transportation for eight Dallas County school districts, has nearly 600 propane buses, 500 of which are small vehicles.

Officials at Northside and Alvin say propane is the only viable alternative fuel for their sprawling districts. Compressed natural gas, a popular alternative fuel in other parts of the country, doesn’t have the distance range of propane.

Both however, have been frustrated by the instability in the propane school bus market. Industry officials said propane buses are coming in 2004, but not in the large size that the two districts need. That bus won't be available until 2005.

"They come out with (a large propane bus) in 2005. How do we know they’ll still have it in 2006?" Rath said. The district won't embrace propane until other districts are following suit, thereby increasing demand, he said.

Alvin officials take a similar position. Of the district's 120 buses, 116 run on propane, said John Ralph, director of transportation.

Once the district has diesel tanks and equipment in place, Ralph said, the district won't be so dependent on propane and its costly buses.

Ralph said propane is the best fuel for school districts, but that they had been "held hostage" in the past. Now propane may be on its way out.

"It makes me real cranky thinking about it," Ralph said. "Here is the only viable clean air system that works. Propane was almost better than sliced bread."