Blue Bird tour highlights propane-powered school buses

Blue Bird school buses, including those that run on propane, were featured during the 2018 Blue Bird Experience tour at James A. Rhodes Conference Center at the Transportation Research Center (TRC), where school districts participated in educational sessions, ride-and-drive experiences and other activities.

“Just as the TRC has been pushing the limits of vehicles on its proving grounds, Blue Bird has been pushing the limits of school bus innovation with its alternatively fueled buses, like electric, propane and compressed natural gas, and with its cleaner-operating diesel and gasoline buses,” says Tim Gordon, director of North America sales for Blue Bird Corp.

Hosted by local Blue Bird dealer Cardinal Bus Sales, the event included a full lineup of Blue Bird’s services and products, including Micro Bird Type A school buses and Blue Bird Vision Type C buses fueled by propane, gasoline and diesel.

“This event allowed school district decision-makers to learn about the safety, economic and environmental benefits of a host of Blue Bird’s buses,” says Tony Rumer with Cardinal Bus Sales. “In particular, they appreciated the low emissions, quiet ride and fuel savings of the alternative-fueled models.”

Blue Bird’s alternative fuel bus models offer quiet operation that lowers driver distraction and increases driver ability to hear passengers and ambient noise, the company explains.

“This event gave me a lot of confidence in continuing to purchase Blue Bird Vision Propane school buses,” says Shawn Dawson, fleet manager of Westerville City Schools, which operates 35 propane buses. “The partnership between Ford, Blue Bird and Roush CleanTech is so strong.”

According to Dawson, the school district is saving 50 percent in operating costs with propane buses.