© Laketran 
© LaketranNew platform, new fuel - just when we thought these buses will be based on Ford E-series forever!One of the many paratransit companies ditching petrol and diesel in favour of the more cost-effective autogas is Laketran from Lake County, Ohio, adopting the alternative fuel for its Dial-a-Ride fleet of door-to-door shared-ride service minibuses. Laketran's board has already approved replacement of 11 vehicles used to date with LPG-powered ones. The buses to be decommissioned may not be that old at 8 years in service, but with mileage between 200 and 250 thousand miles, it's their time to retire. 6 of the to-be-purchased vehicles will be the new Turtle Top VT3 models, based on Ford Transit rather than the traditional Ford E-series platform. Apparently, Americans aren't traditionalists to the extent we believed them to be...
Tightening standards for emissions and shrinking budgets have been driving the transportation industry toward alternative fuels now more than ever before and so LPG is one of our solutions. By operating autogas buses we are reducing our fuel expenses by 35% and saving on maintenance expenses.
Ben Capelle, General Manager, Laketran
Decision regarding the replacement was definitely made easier by the fact that combining various federal grants covers up to 80% of the buses' price, which in itself is quite a sum at slightly over $1,3 million. The vehicles are expected to hit the road by late summer, 2018, but Laketran doesn't mean to stop there. By the end of the year, the company aims to have 30 people carriers running on autogas, which is 35% of the Dial-a-Ride fleet. Equipped with a wheelchair lift, safety cameras, electronic fare box, GPS-enabled automatic vehicle locators, plus radios and rangers, the new buses are bound to give Laketran an edge over its competitors. At least until they choose to switch to autogas, too...
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