NEW – AB: How auto propane is revolutionizing school transportation

At the Canadian Pupil Transportation Conference in Banff on April 28, 2022, the Propane Education and Research Council's (PERC) President and CEO, Tucker Perkins, spoke about the role auto propane must play in getting children to school safely, displacing diesel engines and reducing overall NOx emissions by 96%. 

Well-to-wheels carbon intensity comparison, between propane and electricity production in the U.S.

The CPA VP of Government Relations for Western Canada, Katie Kachur, facilitated the session with Perkins at this bi-annual event attended by transportation managers and directors from school divisions and school bus owners/contractors/operators across Canada.  

Over 1.3 million children in North America ride a propane bus daily. 

The U.S. federal government recently announced $2.5 billion for “clean school buses” powered by electric, propane, natural gas, hydrogen and biofuels. Perkins spoke about the role that propane will play on the path to decarbonization, and how electrification of the grid is not a silver bullet in the path to net-zero. 

Currently no such funding for propane buses exists in Canada. The CPA continues to advocate to government at all levels to secure incentives for switching to clean alternative energy sources such as propane. Southland Transportation has been utilizing propane as an alternative to diesel fuel since the 1980s. They currently own and operate 850 propane buses across Canada – the largest propane bus fleet in the country, and the second largest propane fleet in North America.

PERC and the CPA emphasized the importance of working together to support propane transportation investment, innovation and opportunities.