Clean School Buses Get High Marks; Program Funded by MSRC/AB 2766

Business Wire, April 25, 2000

News & Lifestyle Editors/Environment & Education Writers

DIAMOND BAR, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2000

A six-year effort by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) to replace old, polluting diesel school buses with clean natural-gas vehicles is paying off as a total of 72 CNG buses are now operating in school districts including those in Walnut, San Juan Capistrano, Whittier, Beaumont, Diamond Bar, Chino, Ontario and Santa Monica.

The MSRC is a government clean-air funding committee responsible for allocating a discretionary fund collected from DMV registration fees. The monies must be used for projects that will reduce air pollution from mobile sources -- namely, cars, trucks and buses.

In 1994, the MSRC started its first alternative-fuel school-bus incentive program by funding the incrementally higher cost of 22 compressed-natural-gas (CNG) and four electric school buses, totaling more than $1.8 million. The following year, the MSRC co-funded an additional 13 CNG buses, and it has since allocated $2.8 million toward the purchase or lease of CNG school buses.

The CNG incentive program is meant to replace older diesel or gasoline Type 1 school buses with new low-emission, original- equipment-manufacturer (OEM) dedicated CNG school buses. The buydown incentive per qualifying school bus is $40,000.

Jim O'Connell, of A-Z Bus Sales in Corona, is one of the vendors selected to offer the vehicle price buydown incentive to school districts and transportation providers, and said schools are very happy with the cleaner buses.

"The school-district bus drivers love the CNG buses," said O'Connell. "The school districts also feel they are doing something good for the community by switching to CNG. They truly want to make an impact."

O'Connell said that many of the school districts have been so pleased with the buses that they are being used for additional purposes such as field trips, which is further cutting down on emissions.

The Walnut Valley School District has been using six CNG buses in its fleet for about a year and will be adding another one soon. Clyde Evans, transportation director for the school district, was able to replace his pre-1977 diesel buses by securing some state funding in addition to the MSRC funds, bringing the total price of each bus down to $31,000.

Evans said the buses are used to transport students from kindergarten through high school as well as for field trips and extracurricular activities. "We use them for everything we can," he said.

According to O'Connell, when the MSRC school-bus incentive program first began, a CNG bus cost about $23,000 more than a diesel bus. School districts were able to use the $40,000 MSRC incentive funds to cover the difference, and started putting the remaining funds toward CNG infrastructure, including fueling stations.

Currently, diesel buses cost about $95,000, with a typical CNG bus priced at $130,000. With the $40,000 in MSRC incentive funds to cover the differential, the price of the two buses is comparable.

The CNG buses, with an 84-passenger capacity, are getting better gas mileage than comparable diesel buses, and their engines are lasting about 100,000 miles longer, according to O'Connell.

However, the biggest benefit has been in the emissions reduced from converting school buses from diesel to CNG -- estimated at 30,477 pounds of air pollution per year.

According to MSRC Chairman Will Kleindienst, the MSRC CNG buydown program is one of the best financial incentives to help respond to a state resolution calling on government agencies to accelerate the phase-out of 2,200 pre-1977 diesel buses by 2003.

"The CNG school-bus program has been very successful, both in terms of reducing emissions and furthering the acceptance and awareness of CNG as a clean alternative to diesel," said Kleindienst. "The MSRC will consider further funding for this and similar programs to help leverage school-bus incentive funds in the state budget."

One of the biggest challenges for school districts is the lack of fueling infrastructure for CNG buses. A diesel bus fueling station costs between $80,000 and $100,000, while a compressed-natural-gas fueling station can run at least twice the price.

More school districts would turn to CNG with some incentives such as MSRC co-funding, predicted O'Connell. The MSRC has already helped co-fund a CNG fueling station for the Whittier school district, and plans to continue funding programs for CNG school buses in the future.

About the MSRC

The Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) was formed in 1990 when Assembly Bill AB 2766 was signed into law, authorizing a $4 motor-vehicle registration fee. Thirty percent of the $4 fee, or approximately $12 million annually, is used for programs administered by the MSRC. All of the programs eligible for funding must reduce air pollution from mobile sources.

Membership of the MSRC is made up of representatives from the transportation agencies of Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties, as well as the Southern California Association of Governments, Southern California Rideshare, the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.