April 12, 2022 – Business Owners, Propane Answers
There are many good reasons to use propane buses — especially right now.
Not only are propane vehicles environmentally cleaner, but traditional buses run on diesel, the price of which is at historic highs.
As of this writing, diesel prices are over two dollars more expensive per gallon than at the same time last year — and steadily increasing to higher prices. For large vehicles, like buses and trucks, hundreds more dollars are paid at the pump per fill-up.
This kind of inflation could lead to the devastation of businesses and organizations. Trucker Michael Whitaker lamented to Yahoo News, “I think we’re going to have a lot of bankruptcies of individual drivers [and] trucking companies.”
And related to this devastating diesel price increase is a diesel shortage.
But there’s hope for truckers and fleet businesses:
There’s never been a better time to switch to a fleet powered by propane.
The government is creating more opportunities for propane and transportation through the new infrastructure bill, so it makes sense to follow suit.
Even in times with more average diesel pricing, people have significant savings when they switch to propane from diesel. That savings benefit increases dramatically in light of the current diesel price inflation.
Not only that but there’s no need for concern over the diesel fuel shortage — scarcity is not an issue for propane.
Besides the monetary savings — which, at the scale large vehicles use fuel, are compelling on their own — there are other compelling reasons to switch to propane for buses.
Propane buses are cleaner, with concerns over diesel emissions as a non-issue. The diesel exhaust produced by buses is a known carcinogen (a potential cancer-causing agent), as acknowledged by the World Health Organization. Not only that, but these fumes aggravate breathing issues like asthma.
These health implications are terrible for truck drivers but especially worrisome for the children riding diesel school buses.
Standing outside the bus, children breathe in this harmful exhaust. (This is particularly scary considering that many children riding school buses are young enough to be at heights that put them at about the same level as tailpipes.)
Propane trucks and propane-powered school buses, by contrast, do not emit this exhaust. In fact, propane use reduces harmful nitrous oxide emissions by 96 percent. It’s an alternative fuel as Designated by the 1990 Clean Air Act.
And in the case of school children, a University of Georgia study of low emission propane school buses like propane showed that students who rode them scored higher on English tests.
This study suggests that removing harmful emissions from daily transportation boosts cognitive ability. While this is wonderful for school children who ride the bus twice a day for short periods, imagine the implications for truckers and drivers in those vehicles much, much longer.
Plus, a propane school bus and propane trucks are also equally as safe to operate as diesel, meeting all of the safety requirements set by the motor vehicle commission.
Pairing the environmental safety information with propane’s substantial savings makes converting to propane-powered vehicles a no-brainer.
Businesses will save significant amounts of money, particularly during this diesel crisis. That money can be put back into the business to increase overall revenue. But the health benefits reaped by operators and passengers may be the most impactful.
For more information on getting started with propane autogas, contact us. We’re happy to help you get started.