Indianapolis rolls out 100 LPG buses

© IC BusLocal politicians and IC Bus executives participated in the delivery ceremony

The purchase is a big one – Indianapolis Public Schools have ordered as many as 100 vehicles. All of them powered with autogas, all of them manufactured and delivered by IC Bus and all of them equipped with lap-shoulder seatbelts for students.

The addition of seatbelts to school buses (regardless of the fuel they run on) is a recommendation by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Agency), formulated in 2015 by the agency's administrator, dr Mark Rosekind. It was presented to school districts all over the country, but Indiana is one of the first ones so far to actually apply it. More will surely follow and the sooner they do, the better.

What we do know about safety and the restraints that we have, is not only is it an opportunity to keep the students in their seats, but when students are in their seats, there’s a dramatic reduction in behavior issues, bullying, those types of things, so this is a great opportunity.

Lewis Ferebee, superintendent of IPS

As for LPG as the bus' fuel, the school district wanted to move away from diesel and choose instead a cleaner and more affordable alternative. The newly purchased CE Series vehicles from IC Bus will account for more than half of the district's fleet, making savings and emission reductions big from day one of operation. The buses are designed specifically for school service and feature 8,8 l engines built to run on LPG by PSI (Power Solutions International). Deliveries from IC Bus' Tulsa, Oklahoma plant started in June 2016 and will be complete by the beginning of the new school year, just in time for the new vehicles to serve their intended purpose.

IC Bus is proud to partner with Indianapolis Public Schools and we look forward to helping them with their transportation needs for this school year and beyond.

Trish Reed, vice president and general manager of IC Bus