Consuming Greens

by Sean Gallagher (School Transportation News) ... While diesel continues to power the vast majority of the nation’s fleet, school districts have still responded with giant leaps forward in promoting greener technologies for bus fleets with the use of alternative fuels, such as electric, compressed natural gas (CNG), propane or biodiesel.

The Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada, for instance, has a fleet of 325 buses that all run on alternative fuel. “The diesel powered buses all run B5 Biodiesel since 1997,” said Assistant Transportation Director Todd Duncan.

Medford Township Public Schools (MTPS) has been the nation’s longest continuous user of biodiesel to operate its bus fleet, utilizing this green technology for almost two decades.

This conversion to biodiesel started as a pet project of Joseph Biluck, the district’s director of operations and technology, but the decision was not an easy one. Initiated in 1994, the program didn’t receive funding for two years, when the school district finally was awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Education.

By 1997, MTPS became the first district in New Jersey to operate a school bus powered by biodiesel after being awarded $115,000 for a demonstration program. “We have a progressive board in Medford,” said Biluck. “Now the use of biodiesel has become part of the culture.”

Currently, the MTPS fleet is comprised of 55 biodiesel buses. The benefits of transitioning to biodiesel, according to Biluck, include energy security, broad application, ease of use and emissions reduction.

The MTPS biodiesel fleet has logged more than eight million miles on the road, consumed nearly one million gallons of biodiesel, displaced almost 200,000 gallons of diesel and reduced expenses by more than $150,000.

Biodiesel is used in any diesel engine, both new and old, and is stored and dispensed from any standard fuel island. “Biodiesel buses comprise a majority of our fleet,” said Biluck. “These buses have proven themselves, no question about it.”

The technology has not only been applied to school buses, but also dump trucks and off-road equipment, which helps eliminate smog-forming emissions and diesel particulate matter.

Biluck stated that reducing the fleet’s environmental impact has been a principal objective. Recent studies have found that on any given day, children riding school buses can inhale seven to 70 times more exhaust from that bus than a typical Los Angeles resident breathes in from all school bus emissions in that day.

Since its initiation in 1997, the MTPS has eliminated more than 123,000 pounds of smog forming emissions along with nearly 2,500 pounds of diesel particulates. READ MORE