Blue Bird’s Propane-Powered Buses Allow Mesa County Valley School
District 51 To Go “Green” with Leading School Transportation Provider
FORT VALLEY, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
92 Blue Bird (Nasdaq: BLBD) propane-fueled school buses will now power
the youngest and largest ‘green fleet’ of school vehicles in Colorado.
Student Transportation of America, Inc. (STA), has been awarded a new $6
million annual contract with Mesa County Valley School District 51 in
Grand Junction, Colorado to provide school transportation services.
The five year contract starts in July, and provides for customer paid
fuel. The school district was able to qualify for additional incentives,
such as the “Innovative Motor Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Credit”, as identified by STA’s Innovation Team. This allowed STA
to lower the total cost of the proposal to the school district, since
the buses are a qualifying motor vehicle.
“Blue Bird’s proven propane solution will save the district thousands of
dollars per year, per bus,” said Trey Jenkins, Vice President of
Alternative Fuels for Blue Bird Corporation. “In addition, we are
delighted that this district was able to benefit from one of the many
incentives that state and local authorities offer to alternative fuel
vehicle solutions. We are excited to have Mesa County experience the
industry’s best, and most cost-effective, alternative fuel system.”
While this is the first operation in Colorado for STA, they are
experienced with other large propane autogas fleets. In 2013, over 400
Blue Bird propane buses were delivered to STA’s operation in Omaha, NE.
STA also operates other large fleets in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and
Meridian, Idaho.
"This is a great bid win for us and we are excited about expanding our
operations in Colorado. We will be looking to show other school
districts in the state how our public-private partnership can not only
upgrade their fleet and improve service, but lower their cost of
operation," stated Don Kissell, Senior Vice President at STA. "Our
talented team in operations is looking forward to getting started and
forging a strong local relationship while drawing upon our years of
experience and demonstrating our outstanding culture of compassion,
caring and customer service.”
About Blue Bird:
Blue Bird offers a complete line of Type A, C and D school buses in a
variety of options and configurations. For more than 85 years, Blue Bird
Corporation has continued to set industry standards with its innovative
design and manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, Blue Bird provides
comprehensive financial solutions through Blue Bird Capital Services.
Today, Blue Bird has more than 1,700 employees, Georgia-based
manufacturing facilities and an extensive network of Dealers and
service-parts facilities throughout North America. Its global presence
can be seen in more than 60 countries through sales into Africa, Asia,
the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. For more
information, visit the Blue Bird Corporation web site at www.blue-bird.com.
About Student Transportation Inc.
Founded in 1997, STI is North America's third-largest and most
progressive provider of school bus transportation services, operating
more than 12,000 vehicles. STI's family of local companies delivers
safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation solutions to school
districts throughout the U.S. and Canada. Services are delivered by
drivers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, terminal managers and
others who are caring members of their local communities. For more
information, please visit www.RideSTBus.com.
Blue Bird Corporation
David Bercik, 478-822-2528
Director of
Product Development
[email protected]
Source: Blue Bird