New York Association of Pupil Transportation , EPA aim to replace, retrofit school buses by 2010

Diesel Fuel News, July 21, 2003

Partly with the help of grants from U.S. EPA's clean school bus program, New York school districts will replace or retrofit school buses with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) over the next few years, U.S. EPA and NYAPT pledged last week. The aim is to fix or replace 5,000 buses/year through 2006, although grant money is tight.

A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Hilary Clinton (DNY) would however dramatically increase such funding, and NYAPT aims to get more funds from state legislature, too. Meantime, EPA pledged that it would help push wider distribution of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) to boost school-bus retrofits. Ironically, school bus operators in New York City (where ULSD is available) have been slow to accept New York state grants for DPF retrofits because of concerns about temporary shut-downs for installation, and fears about maintenance, according to a New York Times report last week. However, such fears can be overcome with clean-diesel fleet education programs, NYAPT told us.