SANFORD, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- School has been in session for a couple months now, and since the beginning of the school year students in Sanford have been riding to class in style.
This fall the district received 31 new propane powered buses which replaced their old fleet of diesel buses. The move was made to save money and to be more environmentally friendly.
"The incentive to the district was the reduced cost of purchasing propane versus the high cost, and the rising cost, of diesel offset by the lower maintenance costs for the new fleet," explained Gregg Stinson, vice president of operations for Student Transportation of America.
For the past couple of decades, Sanford has contracted out bussing of students, and district officials say this new contract with Ledgemere/Student Transportation of America allows them to transport roughly 2,000 students a day in brand new buses that operate more quietly, have enhanced safety features, and reduce the amount of pollutants they are putting into the air for roughly the same cost as before.
"It is all about being green, and it is all about being efficient," said assistant superintendent of Sanford Schools, Eric Knowlton.
He says it has been advantageous for the school system to outsource the business of transporting students to and from school.
"You have one less layer of the school business that you are doing," he explained. "You're not hiring bus drivers, you're not buying buses, you are not maintaining buses, garaging, etcetera. It is a major capital expense."
Bus drivers say the propane powered engines heat up more quickly and do not require block heaters when the mercury dips below freezing during the winter. In addition to reducing the amount of emissions from each vehicle, veteran bus driver, Robert Hazen says they also run more quietly as well.
"They are so quiet, you can here what the kids are saying on the bus," stated Hazen. "If you have got a problem, you need to address it."
He says the only drawback he can see is a lack of refueling stations available when they take the buses on extended trips, but says he expects other school districts and vehicles fleets to follow suit.
