NRDC: No Breathing in the Aisles: Diesel Exhaust Inside School ...

The CNG buses have
paid for themselves as
a result of fuel cost
savings.
The district funded the purchase of CNG buses partly through the incentives offered by the
Energy Policy and Clean Air Act Amendments. The district received small grants from the
Department of Energy, and the local utility company contributed $35,000 towards the construction
of a fueling station. However, most of the funding came from the community. In
total, the district received over $1 million in funding. The school district also received
technical support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection, and PECO Energy Company. 92
Mike Andre, Director of Transportation at the Lower Merion School District, supports
alternative fuels. Andre notes, “What we really need. . . is to change our perspectives about
fuel. The U.S. government needs to start supporting alternative fuel.” Andre also dismissed
the notion that natural gas school bus engines are not as durable as diesel school bus engines.
“My CNG fleet is about to surpass 3 million miles.”
CASE STUDY: EVANSVILLE-VANDERBURGH SCHOOL CORPORATION, INDIANA 93
In 1986, Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation in Indiana decided to switch to natural
gas for their school buses. The Corporation is now operating a fleet of 183 CNG buses,
making it one of the largest CNG school bus fleets in the nation. Evansville-Vanderburgh
initially bought the buses without any outside funding, using money from their annual budget.
The buses have since paid for themselves as a result of fuel cost savings. Curtis Fritz, chief
garage manager at Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, noted that maintenance costs
have gone down. Fritz reported that the drivers like the way the CNG buses drive and get
much better mileage on the engines. With diesel buses, drivers would have to change the oil
every 2,500 miles, but now they only have to change the oil every 5,000 miles.
Recently, though, Evansville-Vanderburgh has faced increased CNG fuel prices. The price
has doubled within the past year from $0.37 a gallon to $0.70 a gallon. This has put some
added pressure on future CNG purchases. Even with these increased costs, however, Fritz
reports that Evansville-Vanderburgh “…has had a positive experience with the CNG buses,”
and is very happy with the switch.
CASE STUDY: NORTHSIDE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, TEXAS 94
Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas is the fifth largest school district
in Texas with 44 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, 10 high schools, and 11 special
education schools. Currently, Northside Independent has a fleet of 472 school buses, which
transport 33,000 students to and from school each day. The district operates 440 of these
school buses on propane and the remainder on bi-fuel (propane/gas). The district is dedicated
to operating a 100 percent alternative fuel fleet and has the largest dedicated propane school
bus fleet in the country.
Northside Independent switched to propane in 1981, largely because of the high price of
gasoline. Given its lower price and local abundance, propane was the easiest solution. The
district is currently in its 20th year of operating propane school buses and they have no
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