Propane autogas helps medical transport company grow

Willamette Valley Medical Transport (WVT), which converted 14 vehicles to propane autogas from gasoline nearly two years ago, reports saving an average of $60,000 per year in fuel cost.

Blue Star Gas installed a 500-gallon propane autogas fueling
station for Willamette
Valley Medical Transport.

The company, which was founded by Tim McClain in 2000 with one wheelchair accessible van, now operates a fleet of 30 vehicles and maintains a service area of more than 120 miles.

The paratransit fleet vehicles each travel about 30,000 miles per year, and, according to McClain, the fuel cost savings with propane autogas versus gasoline have allowed him to reinvest in the business.

Nearly half of the company’s fleet has been converted to run on propane autogas, including three Ford E-150 vans, eight Ford E-250 vans, one Ford E-350 van and two Chevrolet Express 3500 vans.

When McClain first considered converting vehicles to alternative fuels in 2012, propane was not his first choice. A meeting with full-service propane distribution company Blue Star Gas, however, changed his mind.

Blue Star Gas installed a 500-gallon on-site propane autogas fueling station for WVT and maintains a regional network of refueling stations used by more than 400 customer vehicles.