Propane buses proposed at Webutuck

WEBUTUCK — Now that voters have approved the North East (Webutuck) Central School District’s request to purchase two additional 65-passenger school buses, talks have begun regarding whether to purchase propane-fueled buses or the more traditional diesel-fueled buses.“Propane is the way of the future,” said Jerry Heiser, Webutuck’s bus garage supervisor. “The biggest benefit of switching to propane is the cleaner emissions. The second biggest benefit would be the lower long-run maintenance expenses.”Propane-fueled buses release significantly less tailpipe emissions than traditional diesel-fueled buses. Diesel buses pollute so much that there are laws that only allow diesel buses to idle for a maximum of five minutes before they must be shut off. Propane buses have no such restrictions.Diesel exhaust contains more than a dozen known carcinogens. During complete combustion, propane exhaust contains only water and carbon dioxide.Maintenance on propane buses will also be significantly cheaper, particularly in the long-run. For example, diesel buses require 30 quarts of oil during every oil change while a propane bus requires only 10 quarts. In another example, the cost of replacing the exhaust on a diesel bus is more than a seven-and-a-half times the cost for a similar replacement part on a propane bus.Heiser said that he doesn’t believe that there are any significant benefits to staying with diesel.Diesel buses currently get roughly 2 to 3 miles per gallon more than propane, but because of the lower cost of propane fuel, that benefit is negated.If the school district decides to buy propane buses, it will qualify for tax incentives and rebates, including a 50-cent rebate per gallon of propane purchased, which further increases the savings on fuel.The savings on fuel is so high that Heiser said that it would negate the slightly higher purchase cost of the propane buses in less than a year.The fuel cost alone could potentially mean big savings for the school district over time, especially since the average life span of the buses — both diesel and propane — is 10 years.The life span on the buses in the Webutuck fleet is not decided by what is under the hood, but by what is (or hopefully is not) on the outside: rust.The district is looking into increasing the life span of each bus by potentially adding an undercoat on individual buses that will protect them from the weather and from corrosives like salt.Once the buses have significant rust damage, it is cheaper to replace the entire vehicle than it is to replace the rusty body.The district will weigh cost factors against potential longevity benefits before it decides whether to have a protective undercoat applied to the new buses.If the school board decides to switch to propane buses, it will need to install a propane fueling station at the Webutuck bus garage.The cost of installing the fueling station will be covered by whichever propane company the district enters a contract with.All bus drivers and bus garage staff will be trained in refueling the vehicles to ensure high levels of safety are maintained at all times.Propane safety“People have the wrong idea about propane. They think with propane they’re sitting on a ticking time bomb, but that’s not true,” said Heiser.Propane vehicles are actually just as safe as diesel or gas ones.Propane buses are equipped with automatic shut-off valves that cut the flow of fuel in emergency situations.The tanks are well-protected to minimize the chance of a leak caused by an accident.The propane is stored as a liquid, which is less volatile than a gas, until it reaches the combustion chamber.The Webutuck Board of Education will discuss this matter further at upcoming meetings. Members of the public are welcome to attend and voice their opinions or to pose questions about this issue.The next Webutuck Board of Education meetings will be held on June 6 and June 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Webutuck High School library.