The Fresno Unified (FUSD) continues to acquire more low-emissions vehicles, introducing 13 buses that will be ready to transport students when school resumes Tuesday, January 17. In addition, Garden Grove’s district (GGUSD) received a $1.53 million grant to purchase nine additional school 50-passenger units that run on methane, scheduled for delivery this spring, which will replace older diesel buses.
With this latest award by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the GGUSD will soon operate 49 natural gas buses, 45 percent of its total fleet, which remains the largest inventory of clean-fuel units among Orange County school districts, reported Fountain Valley Patch.
Furthermore, 57 of FUSD’s 93-bus fleet are now CNG-powered buses. The new vehicles, largely funded through San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s $2.2 million grant, not only operate 98 percent cleaner than Fresno Unified’s diesel buses, but they improve safety for students and run on fuel that costs about $1 less per gallon than diesel, according to the district’s press release.
“The air district wants diesel buses off the road,” said Ralph Meza, Fresno Unified’s director of transportation, and stated that FUSD will also save on maintenance costs: “There are less oil changes, there aren’t any fuel filters to buy, and the buses are cleaner on the inside because there’s no soot.”
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