green school buses

Turning School Buses Green – ED.gov Blog  From the official government website, news about the new green fleet of school buses:

On April 1, President Obama unveiled his green fleet initiative, which ensures that by 2015, all new vehicles purchased by federal agencies will be electric, gas-electric hybrid, or alternatively fueled. “In an economy that relies so heavily on oil, rising prices at the pump affect everybody,” the President said. 

Feeling pain at the pump is not new for cash-strapped school districts around the country who need to keep their school buses moving and on time. Secretary Duncan has noted that schools and school districts are facing new challenges of doing even more with less, or what he calls the “new normal.” It’s this “new normal” and the instability and rising price of oil that led the Kansas City Kansas Public School District (KCKPS) to rewrite its history in education transportation and purchase 47 new, environmentally-friendly natural gas buses. 

The buses received a warm welcome last month as they were paraded through Kansas City, accompanied by cheering crowds and with a marching band leading the way. The compressed natural gas (CNG) buses replace nearly one-third of the KCKPS diesel bus fleet and are estimated to reduce fuel costs by one-third. Personnel costs will also be diminished due to the shorter time needed to refuel. KCKPS is the first school district in the state to use CNG school buses.

One of Kansas City Kansas Public School District's new
environmentally-friendly buses. 
via ED.gov

Related articles

• Wheels: Blue Bird Recalls 3,900 School Buses for Fire Hazard (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com) from this April 8, 2011 article:

Blue Bird has had a series of recalls in the last year. They included about 5,300 school buses involved in three actions for a fire hazard, the possibility that the driver’s seat may collapse and the possible loss of steering. An additional 13,600 school buses were recalled because a warning light might not illuminate when there was a failure of the antilock braking system. About 360 school buses were recalled because the emergency window exit might not open wide enough.