The price of diesel keeps going up to record levels, putting a strain on school districts that need the fuel to keep their school buses running.
AAA reports this month, diesel fuel in the Cincinnati area hit its highest average price on record: $6.79 per gallon. This time last year, a gallon of diesel was around $3.70. This has increased the cost of doing business in many industries, including local agriculture. For school districts that operate their own fleet, this can lead to dramatic changes in spending.
The Forest Hills School District has nearly 70 school buses in its fleet, each with a fuel tank holding about 100 gallons.
To fill the entire tank with diesel, it costs more than $600 per bus, but Transportation Coordinator Richard Porter tells WVXU the diesel crunch hasn't put a financial strain on the school system, because about 50 of its buses run on propane and another 8 use regular gas.
"We realistically are trying to phase out the diesels altogether," he says.
That's for several reasons. Porter says emissions from diesel-powered buses are more detrimental to student and school employee health. He also says propane buses require less expensive maintenance and use significantly cheaper fuel.
More than a decade ago, Forest Hills used grant funding to switch much of its fleet from diesel to propane. The district's transportation department now has an 18,000-gallon tank to hold its propane fuel, allowing it to save money through bulk purchases. The last time it bought propane, it cost just $0.94 a gallon.
The propane-powered buses are used every school day to transport students to and from their classes. The small number of diesel- and gas-powered buses are still used for longer trips, like rides to athletic events and field trips where a bus may need to refuel at a traditional gas station.
The transition has been embraced by the transportation department. Porter notes that at first, the district's school bus mechanics were against the addition of propane buses, but these days he says they can't wait for the diesel buses to be retired from the fleet.
"We only run [diesel] when necessary," Porter says. "We're not putting as many miles on the diesel as we are the rest."
He adds Forest Hills operates one of the largest propane-powered fleets in the area, which has allowed his department to keep spending in check as other costs rise at a faster rate. He hopes all the diesel buses in his fleet will be phased out in about two years.
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