Collins Bus, a provider of Type-A school and school activity buses in North America, and BAF, a supplier of natural gas vehicles, have partnered to build a Type-A school bus featuring a compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel system.
Collins to Build CNG Buses
The CNG will be offered as an option on many of Collins’ bus models from the spring of 2012. The company had been trying to develop a CNG version for many years, but a feasible solution did not materialize.
CNG provides a significant reduction in greenhouse emissions when compared to gasoline and diesel fuels. CNG can also reduce the cost of fuel by 25% to 40% and the country’s dependence on oil from other countries. North America provides 98% of all natural gas produced. Presently, in the USA, more than 110,000 vehicles run on CNG.
The President of Collins Bus, Kent Tyler, stated that CNG was the next step in alternative fuel technologies. BAF will bring its expertise for the new development. The added offering of CNG to the company’s Hybrid-Electric and Propane bus models will further highlight the company’s expertise and variety of offerings for clean energy solutions.
The BAF Director of Sales, Brent Pope, said that CNG fuel had a considerable economic and environmental advantage when compared to gasoline and diesel fuels. Weight played a critical role in alternative engines, he added.