Speakers gather for the Gulf Coast Association for Pupil Transportation on Monday, February 12, 2018.  Funding opportunities were presented by

H-GAC
Cummins Westport, Inc.
HISD
Roush

Click on the links to view the presentations.

On Thursday, February 15, 2018, TxDOT’s Houston District Office held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Electric Vehicle Fleet Kickoff. Dalton Pratt, TxDOT Fleet Operations Director and Quincy Allen, TxDOT Houston District Engineer spoke about the exciting move into the future. The vehicles that have been added to the fleet include two EV’s, the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt, and two hybrid vehicles, the Ford C Max Energi and Toyota Prius Prime. Employees participated in test drives and charging station demonstrations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded more than $1 million to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, for electric shuttle buses. The funds, administered under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), help improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from diesel vehicles.

“EPA’s clean-diesel grants help cities improve air quality and achieve regulatory standards,” said Regional Administrator Anne Idsal. “The Bush airport’s grant will help reduce pollution and improve quality of life for communities near the airport.”

“Improving air quality through the use of alternative technologies is a priority of the Houston Airport System,” said Houston Airport System environmental manager Carlos Ortiz. “With the assistance of the EPA, we are able to reduce emissions from diesel-powered shuttle buses and promote the use of alternative technologies at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.”

The $1,032,104 grant allows the airport to purchase four electric-power shuttle buses to replace diesel-burning buses. This is expected to reduce tons of pollution per year—nearly 12.4 tons of pollutants that contributes to ozone and 0.1 tons of particulate matter. This will not only help improve air quality, but also help improve overall respiratory, cardiovascular, and central nervous system health for people living in communities surrounding the airport.

DERA funding helps improve air quality by giving grants to schools, municipalities and other local government groups to replace or improve aging diesel fleets. Grants are typically targeted to areas with poor air quality. The funds allow grantees to retrofit existing vehicles with emission-reducing technology, or to replace vehicles with newer, cleaner-burning models.

As a result of EPA regulations, diesel engines manufactured today are cleaner than ever before. But because diesel engines can operate for 30 years or more, millions of older, dirtier engines are still in use. Reducing exposure to diesel exhaust from these engines is especially important for human health and the environment. EPA offers funding for projects that reduce diesel emissions from existing engines.

For more about EPA’s clean diesel program: https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) just announced $6.2M funding under their newly expanded Clean School Bus Program. The Clean School Bus Program open now will provide grants to public and charter schools as well as school transportation companies statewide to install exhaust retrofits as well as replace older diesel school buses with new school buses. One of those options includes replacement of older buses with cleaner-burning propane autogas school buses.

The Propane Council of Texas is excited about a new opportunity to put cleaner school buses on Texas roads. According to the EPA, diesel exhaust is exceptionally harmful to children because their lungs are not fully developed. Not only that, but these older diesel buses produce higher amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to smog, ground level ozone and is associated with adverse health effects. Cleaner-burning propane school buses are available from top school bus manufacturers.

“Texas is home to over 26,000 pre-2007 diesel school buses. If school districts would replace all the pre-2007 school buses, Texas could reduce (NOx) by 7.5M pounds a year,” states Propane Council of Texas Executive Director, Bill Van Hoy.

School districts can replace a pre-2007 school bus with propane school bus and get between $36,500 -$52,500 dependent on the passenger capacity. Funding is first come, first serve with a limit of funding 5 school buses per district.

The Clean School Bus Grant guidelines and application can be found on the TCEQ website at http://www.terpgrants.org.

School districts interested to switch to propane school can contact the Propane Council of Texas for information at info@propanecounciloftexas.org  or calling (800)325-7427.

About the Propane Council of Texas
The Propane Council of Texas is (ProCOT) is a 501 (c) 3 educational and marketing foundation. Our objective is consumer education, highlighting the benefits of home-grown propane and promoting clean-burning propane technologies like propane school buses.