Chicago-area school district adds 79 propane buses
Orland School District 135 near Chicago partnered with Cook-Illinois Corp. to add 79 Blue Bird Vision propane buses to its fleet.
According to Roush CleanTech, these propane-powered buses make up 80 percent of the school district’s fleet. The Blue Bird Vision propane buses are equipped with a Ford 6.8-liter V10 engine and come with the Roush CleanTech propane fuel system.
“Cook-Illinois’ subsidiary, American School Bus Co., won the bid for our regular education bus services for the 2016-17 school year,” says Jerry Hughes, director of risk management and safety for Orland School District. “They presented the benefits of propane-fueled buses that really appealed to us.”
Cook-Illinois currently pays 98 cents per gallon for propane compared with $1.99 for diesel. The company has seven private fuel locations, varying from 1,000- to 8,000-gallon tank sizes.
Thomas O’Sullivan, president of contracts and bids for Cook-Illinois, adds that all of the company’s subsidiaries will eventually have propane buses available. According to Roush CleanTech, Cook-Illinois plans to purchase only alternative-fueled buses in the future.