A new propane-powered paratransit bus that can transport wheelchair-bound passengers is being unveiled this week. (image: domesticfuel.com)
A new propane-powered paratransit bus is being unveiled this week in Minneapolis.
The bus will seat 20 passengers and two wheelchairs, and is equipped with the Roush CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system. It features the frame of a Ford E-450 cutaway with a shuttle bus body.
The clean-burning alternative fuel vehicle is a partnership between Roush and National Bus Sales, which will sell the buses. Elkhart Coach will use the buses in Texas from this summer as part of its fleet that transports ambulatory and wheelchair passengers, domesticfuel.com reported. Roush expects an order of eight buses within months. National Bus Sales will then take on the marketing and placement of the propane autogas buses nationwide and expects to sell hundreds during the next year.
National Bus Sales president John Walsh said the company was thrilled to partner with Roush to bring propane autogas technology to America’s public and private bus fleets at a time when gasoline and diesel prices were near-record highs.
In this time of high gas prices and the need for sustainability, this unequivocal product is guaranteed to lower harmful carbon emissions and operating costs.
ROUSH CleanTech president Joe Thompson said the new venture had the potential to revolutionize the way governments, municipalities and the public viewed the paratransit industry.
No longer does the traditional image of dirty exhaust and compromised air quality from buses have to be the norm.
The new propane buses are being launched this week during the Community Transportation Association Expo in Minneapolis, Minn.
Thompson said propane autogas, the world’s third-most widely used fuel, burns cleaner than gasoline or diesel.
“With thousands of propane autogas stations across the US, a nationwide fueling infrastructure is already in place,” he said.
Just last week, President Obama delivered a Federal Fleet Memorandum, which ordered the federal vehicle fleet to be powered by alternative fuels by December 31, 2015.
And a bi-partisan bill, the Propane Gas Act, is currently before the Congress, which seeks to extend tax credits for propane autogas, autogas-powered vehicles and autogas refueling infrastructure for another five years.
Thompson said Obama’s push for alternative fuel vehicles in the federal fleet was another reason to support the Propane Gas Act.
Propane autogas is domestically produced, readily available, and environmentally friendly. It’s the leading alternative fuel in the US, and the world, today.