The Mid-Prairie School Board recently approved the purchase of two new propane-powered school buses for the coming school year, their fifth and sixth propane buses to be added to their fleet. Business Manager Jeff Swartzentruber says the district has 10 bus routes, so he feels it’s encouraging that 60% of them will be traveled on propane buses. This is the third year in a row the district will be replacing diesel buses with propane buses, and Swartzentruber says they have found propane buses are more efficient than diesel, have cleaner emissions, and are more reliable in cold weather.

In spite of that, Swatzentruber said they will keep at least a couple diesel buses in their fleet, at least for the time being. He explains, “We will always have to maintain some other fuel, whether it’s diesel fuel or gas-powered buses, for some of the longer trips until we identify propane filling stations at distances farther away. And with the geographic size of our athletic conference, we’re driving two and a half to three hours north sometimes for some games on school buses. The mileage range that those (propane) buses can go, we’re getting to the edge of that.” The Washington and Keota school districts also utilize propane buses, and Swartzentruber believes it’s beneficial to each district to be able to compare notes on what is and isn’t working in regards to the buses.